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MISCELLANIES,
VOL. ir.
RIVINGTONS
ICotrtJOn .... • • • Waterloo Place
..-••• Magdalen Street
...... • • Trinity Street
MISCELLANIES
LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS
BY
CHR. WORDSWORTH, D.D.
BISHOP OF LINCOLN
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. II.
RIVINGTONS
Hotrtfon, (StyfortJ, atrtf
MDCCCLXXIX.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
ON THE INSPIRATION OP THE BIBLE.
PAGE
Ancient Fresco-painting, from the Eoman Catacombs, a symbolical
representation of the doctrine concerning the Inspiration of the
Bible; and of the divine method for diffusing and interpret
ing it 1, 2
In considering this question we must begin with proving the God
head of Jesus Christ ........ 2
To do this it is to be shown, first, that the Gospels are true
histories . . . . . . . . . . .2,3
Next — since the Gospels are true histories — it follows that Christ
is God 3
Next let us learn to behold Christ holding in His hands the Old
Testament 3
And as avouching its Truth and Inspiration ..... 3
Evidence of this testimony of Christ to the Old Testament— Christ's
guarantee to us 3, 4
Of the Truth and Inspiration of the New Testament . . . 4, 5
What are the grounds of our reverence for the testimony of the
Church Universal to the Truth and Inspiration of the Bible . 6, 6
What that testimony amounts to 5
Summary of the argument . . . . . . . .5
Corroborative evidence —
1. From God's providential care for theBible ; Antiochus Epiphanes ;
Diocletian . . . . . . . . 6 — 8
His care for the Bible in England 8, 9
2. From the fulfilment of the Prophecies in the Bible ... 9
3. From the Continuity and Symmetry of the Bible . . .10
4. From the class of persons employed in writing it . • 10> H
5. From the moral effects produced by the Bible . . . 12 — 14
Moral uses of difficulties in the Bible 15
Conclusion . . .16
vi Contents.
PAGE
ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE 17
Need of this inquiry . . . . . . . . 17, 18
Historical reference to the methods applied (especially in Germany)
to the Interpretation of the Bible . . . . 18 — 33
The Dogmatists and Confessionists 18
Succeeded by the Pietists (Spener and others) . . . .19
The Pietists, followed by the Eationalists . . . 20, 21
Theory of Accommodation 21, 22
The relation of Kant's Philosophy to the Bible . . . .22
Practical Reason, Moral sense, inner Consciousness, proposed as In
terpreters of the Bible (Semler) 22, 24
Rationalism superseded by Spiritualism (Strauss) leading to Pan
theism 25,26
Review of the history of Biblical Interpretation in Germany . . 27
Its theories derived from England (Tindal, Woolston, Morgan,
Toland) 28—30
Practical inferences from this review (Bemet, Neander) . . 31, 32
Resemblance of errors, old and new ....... 33
Almost every Heresy involves some truth 33
What is the office of the Church as the Guardian and Keeper of
Scripture 33, 34
What are the proper means for the Interpretation of the Bible . . 35
Conscience, what its office is (Sanderson) 35
Human Reason — when used reasonably 35 — 37
Limits of its use . . „ .- 36
Reason leads on to Faith . 37,38
Faith and Science their respective provinces and functions
(Hooker) 38, 39
Nature and the Bible, two Books of God (Lord Bacon) . . .39
Use of Biblical Criticism 40
The Bible bears testimony to the use of Human Learning . 41, 42
Solution of the question, why Human Learning and Science are
sometimes found allied with Unbelief; and why Belief is found
among the unlearned ....... 43 — 46
Need of certain moral dispositions for understanding, and believing
the Bible 46
Causes of Infidelity 47, 48
Why the existence of Unbelief confirms our Belief in the Bible . 47
Punitive power of Holy Scripture 48
Heresies of men distinguished by ability, intelligence, and learning,
and semblances of virtue ....... 49, 50
Wisdom of humble simplicity 51
S. Augustine's description of a good Biblical Interpreter . . .52
Duty and happiness of Christianizing Secular Learning and Science . 53
Christ the true Interpreter of Scripture 54
The walk to Emmaus 55
How He performs this work of Biblical interpretation . . 56 —59
Contents. vii
PAGE
Some prophecies, not understood by the Prophets who uttered them,
are made clear to us by Christ speaking by Himself, and by
the Holy Spirit in His Apostles and Evangelists . . 59 — 62
Our consequent high privileges and solemn responsibilities . 63, 64
Christ explains to us the Old Testament in the New . . .65
The Spiritual Interpretation of the History of the Old Testament 66, 67
Eeference to the Author's Introductions in his Commentary on the
Old Testament 67
Holy Scripture to be interpreted as a whole, "according to the
proportion of faith." George Herbert .... 68,69
Illustrations of this statement as to the Nature and Person of Christ ;
as to the efficacy of Repentance ; as to Divine Foreknowledge
and Human Freewill ; as to Justification and Sanctification ; as
to the Sacraments 69 — 76
Harmonization of facts . . . . . . . . 76, 77
" Undesigned Coincidences " (so called) . , . . . . .78
Christ interpreting Holy Scripture, in matters of Faith, by means
of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in the Church Universal, uttering
its voice in Creeds and Confessions of Faith . . .79, 80
Christ is ever present, and always teaching, in the Universal
Church 81—83
How this has been shown in her history . , . . . . .84
Eichard Baxter on the Creed . . . . ' . . . 83, 84
How Heresies were overruled for the manifestation and maintenance
of the Faith 84, 85
Why do we believe the articles of the Creed to be true ? . . .85
What are the touchstones of dogmatic Truth P . . . 86, 87
Why do we receive the Nicene Creed ? 89
Do we claim Infallibility for a Council ? 90
Differences between a priori Infallibility and a posteriori Iner
rancy 90, 91
Why we reject the peculiar dogmas of Rome . . . . .91
The Roman Church is not the Catholic Church ; and the Romish
Faith is not the Catholic Faith . . . . . 92, 93
Our Catholic safeguards against Rome ..... 91 — 93
Our safeguards also against the errors of private interpretation . 93, 94
What is true Liberty and Progress ...... 93, 94
An Essential difference between Theology and Physical Science
(Pascal) 96
Regard for the authority of the Church Universal is no disparagement
to Christ ; but the contrary. Let us not separate them . . 97
Analogy between the divine plan for assuring us of the Inspiration
of Scripture, and for guiding us in its Interpretation . 98, 99
Recapitulation 100—102
ON THE REVISION OF THE Authorized Version OF THE BIBLE 103 — 105
Cautions and Suggestions with respect to it . • . 104 — 106
viii Contents.
PAGE
Probable allegations of Sceptics and Romanists .... 105
ON THE EEVISION OF the New Lectionary (of 1871) . . 106 — 110
Table of Proper Psalms and Lessons put forth at the Lincoln
Synod 110—113
What is the true Method of teaching the Bible . . .114 — 119
A Syllabus for teaching 119—121
Uses of Set Forms of Prayer 121
As compared with extemporaneous prayer in public . . . 122 — 121
A sound Liturgy is not only a Manual of Devotion but a Kule of
Doctrine 124
Its restorative efficacy . . 125
Arguments for, from the terminology of Scripture .... 125
From the example of Christ and His Apostles, and the Ancient
Church 126,127
Uses of the ENGLISH Book of Common Prayer . . . 127, 128
Is it derived from the Roman Breviary 128
Courage and wisdom of the English Reformers .... 130
Uses of a vernacular Liturgy. Our duty to the Prayer Book . 131, 132
Testimonies to the English Liturgy of the English Legislature . 132
George Herbert 133
On the HOLY SACEAMENTS 134
The Church a Bethel ... ... . . 134
Holy Baptism 135
Christ crucified the source of all Sacramental Grace .... 135
Baptism by immersion . 135, 136
INFANT BAPTISM, Letter on 136
Allegations against it considered and answered . . 136 — 143
Only two kinds of profitable teaching 143
HOLY COMMUNION 143
Its relation to Holy Baptism 143, 144
Reception necessary 144
Enforcement of fasting before the reception of Holy Communion . 144
Pleas for the enforcement considered 144
Distinction between doctrines and ceremonies .... 146, 147
Practice of our Lord and the Apostles 148, 149
And of the primitive Church 148, 149
Evil results of private imposition of rules of ritual . . . 150, 151
"What is the true wisdom as to Ceremonies . . . .150 — 152
Law and Practice of the Church of England .... 152, 153
The Authority of particular Churches as to Rites and Cere
monies 154—156
Contents. ix
PAGE
Practical conclusion 155
On non-communicating attendance 156
Reception of the Holy Sacrament necessary . . . . 156, 157
Cardinal Bona and John Wesley . . . . . . . 157
Bisdop Cosin 157, 158
Language and Law of the Church of England on the need of actual
reception 158 — 160
On the proper time for withdrawal of non-communicants (Bishop
Cosin) 160, 161
On " Spiritual Communion " . . . . . . . .' . 161
On " adoration " 161
Evils in the other direction 162
On the use of the unfermented juice of the grape in the Holy
Communion : with some prefatory remarks on Temperance
Societies 163 — 170
On the enforcement of a total Abstinence pledge .... 164
What was the kind of wine used at the institution of the Holy
Communion. Testimony of Scripture and the Mishna . 167, 168
And by Apostolic and sub-Apostolic Churches . % . . . . . 168
Preventives of Intemperance . . .... . . 169
ON CONFIRMATION ; the duty and benefit of coming to it . 170—179
Age for Confirmation 178
On the Statistics of Confirmation in England, as showing the
need of an increase of the Episcopate . . . .181 — 186
On the manner of administering Confirmation . . . . . 186
Appeal to the Legislature — This not a question for the Clergy only,
but for all 188
ON CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION ...... 189
The Words in the Ordinal, " Eeceive the Holy Ghost, Whosoever sins
ye remit, they are remitted " 189
Reality of Absolution . . . . . . . . 189, 190
In what ways is it given, and by Whom ? 193 — 197
Testimonies of the Ancient Fathers and Anglican Divines . 193 — 196
On " forms of Absolution ;" public and private, declaratory and pre
catory 198—202
Doctrine of the Church of England. Peter Lombard . . 200—202
Doctrine of the Church of Rome . . . 200, 202, 204, 207, 208
Of Holy Scripture and the Ancient Church .... 205—207
Practical application . . . . . ... . 207 — 211
Duties of Clergy and Laity .209,210
PASTORAL LETTEB FOE THE BETTER OBSERVANCE OF ASCENSION
DAT . . 212—215
x Contents.
PAGE
ON THE OBSERVANCE OF EOOATION DAYS .... 216, 217
DAY OF INTERCESSION FOR MISSIONS 217
ON SPECIAL FORMS OF PRAYER FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS . 218 — 220
Question as to their authority 218 — 229
Special forms of Prayer for Missions ; for H.E.H. the Prince of
Wales; in time of Cattle plague ; for the increase of the
Episcopate .......... 221
For Peace . . . .;"..'.. . .221
Thanksgiving for . . . • /• • • • • 222
Prayer for Mohammedans and Eastern Churches .... 222
Prayer for Unity, Latin Translation of . . . . . . 223
Prayer for St. Paul's Mission House, Burgh, Lincolnshire . . 223
For the Theological School, Lincoln . . . . . . 224
For a supply of Clergy •. . . 224
Prayers at the presentation of an offering to the Bishop-designate of
Truro . ... . . ... . . . 225, 226
ON CHURCH Music.
On the true uses of Hymns . . . ...'.. 229—232
Church Choirs . ' . .233
On HYMNS for the Church of England . .' . * . . .236
The true end and aim of Hymnology . . ' ' . . . . 233, 236
A Hymn Book for the Church of England ought to be adjusted to
the Prayer Book . . ' v . ' 236
Hymns for Advent . . . 237
Modes of Christ's Advent or Coming . . . . . 237—239
Hymns for Saints' Days . . ... . . . 240—245
Hymns for Epiphany . . ' . ' . • 241
Various aspects of the Epiphany ...... 241,242
Beauty of Anglican Service Book ....... 243
Septuagesima — Lent 243, 2i4
Seasons of Forty Days 245
Hymns for Saints' Days 247
Ancient and Modern Hymns ........ 249
Parisian Breviary . . . . . . . . . 249
Metres of Hymns 251, 252
The HOLY YEAR, or Hymns for Sundays, Holy Days, and daily
use 252—383
On RELIGIOUS FAITH and WORSHIP in ART 384
What are the true character, and functions of Art . . . 384, 385
What is the aim and end of Work 385
The first Sabbath not said to have an Evening .... 385
The Great Works of Art in the Word of God— their purpose and
meaning 385, 386
Contents. xi
PAGE
The Ark— The Tabernacle 385, 386
Imitation is not the essence of Art 386
A genuine Artist 386
" Schools of Art" — uses and dangers of 386
How to be improved 386
What is Beauty ? 387
Plato — Michael Angelo — Winkelmann — Sir Joshua Reynolds — their
Testimonies 387—390
Architecture — its true ideal — the Parthenon, Lincoln Cathedral,
Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's 390, 391
Sculpture— its true ideal . 391, 392
The Panathenaic Frieze, Triumphal Arches at Rome, Triumphal
Columns ;...*'. . 391, 392
Laocoon group — its age . . . . ... . . . 392
The Cross and the Crucifix— Campanella . . . . , 392, 393
Stained Glass . . . ... . . . r • . .393
Landscape Painting — Ideal of i. • , . . . . . 394
Portrait Painting 394, 395
Comparison of Ancient Nations and England as to public works of
Art 395
The Duke of Wellington's Statue 395
Character of the true Artist 327
Midland Counties MUSEUM of ART, at NOTTINGHAM — Prayer at and
Hymn for 398, 391
CHRISTIAN Art in CEMETERIES and CEMETERY Chapels . . . 401
Suggestions for improvements in the adornment of . . . 401 — 403
Campo Santo at Pisa 403
Christian Symbols (connected with Death and Resurrection) in the
Catacombs 404
Adam and Eve — The Ark and Dove with olive branch — Abraham
offering up Isaac — Joseph — Jonah — the Three Children — Daniel
—Enoch and Elias 404, 405
Symbols from the New Testament — The Sower, the Good Shepherd,
the Wise Virgins, Lazarus, the Fish . . . . . 405
The Chi Rho— the Alpha and Omega — the Palm branch . . . 405
St. Jerome in the Catacombs 406
On CREMATION and BURIAL 49
History of Burial since the Christian era .... 407, 408
Doctrines involved in it . . . . . • • • • ^°
Primeval and Patriarchal doctrine and practice . . . • 409, 410
Roman practice . 410, 411
Change produced by Christianity . . . • • .411
Arguments for Cremation 412—415
Considered • 413—415
Arguments for burial 415 4wO
List of Works on Cremation 4^0
xii Contents.
PAGE
On the Intermediate State of the Soul, between Death and the
Besurrection of the Body . 422
Whither does the Soul go at Death ? ... '. ' . .423
What is Paradise 1 423
St. Paul's two Visions 425, 426
What is Abrahams bosom ? 428
Our Burial Office ..429
Practical inferences from the inquiry 429
Power and Love of Christ ........ 429
On Prayers to the Saints 430
On Purgatory 430
The Soul does not sleep 431
Prospect of our own death, and of the death of friends . . . 432
Conclusion . 433
ON THE INSPIEATION OF
THE BIBLE.
IN an ancient fresco painting/ from the Catacombs of Rome,
our Blessed Lord is represented having a nimbus of glory
on His head, and seated on a throne, and having in His left
hand an Open Book (representing the Holy Bible) and
raising His right hand in the act of Blessing. The Bible is
also represented in its composite character, that is, as
consisting of various "writings, by two cylinders or capsce,
containing written rolls, symbolizing the books of the Two
Testaments. And the method in which the Bible is given
by Christ to the World is shown by the figures of the two
Apostles, St. Peter, the Apostle of the Circumcision, and
St. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, the one on one side of
Christ, the other on the other side.
Thus is displayed the great truth, that the Written Word
is avouched by Jesus Christ, the Incarnate WORD ; that it is
His will that it should be opened in the eyes of all, to be
seen, heard, and read by all ; and that the Holy Scriptures
are delivered by Him to the Apostolic Ministry of His Church,
in order to be guarded, interpreted, and preached by her to
all the world.
This ancient fresco is a pictorial Essay on the Inspiration
of the Bible.
It reminds us that we are not to regard the Bible as a
1 An engraving of it may be seen in Didron's Iconographie Chre*tienne,
p. 29, Paris, 1843, and in the Rev. Wharton Marriott's Vestiarium Chris-
tianum, Plate XII., with a description, p. 235. London, 1868.
VOL II. B
2 Miscellanies.
common book, that we must lift up our eyes from earth to
heaven and see the Bible in the hands o'f Christ; as
guaranteed by His divine authority; as subscribed by His
Sign-manual, and sealed by His Seal ; and delivered by His
authority to the Apostolic Church Universal, the divinely
appointed Keeper and Interpreter of the Word of God.
We are thus taught how to encounter the unbeliever in his
assaults upon the Bible.
We must begin with proving the Godhead of Christ.
This was the method adopted by the ancient Church ; and
it ought to be ours also.
For this purpose we must show from external evidence
that the history of Christ, as written in the Gospels, is a
true history.
We can prove, from external testimony, that the Gospels
which we hold in our hands are the same as those that
existed in the hands of the Primitive Church ; and that they
were read in her public assemblies as true histories. We
can show that the primitive Christians had no earthly
interest to serve in asserting the truth of the Gospels ; but,
on the contrary, the assertion of that truth exposed them to
the loss of all worldly advantages, and that they endured
suffering and torture for it ; that they were stoned, beheaded,
crucified, burnt alive, and cast to the wild beasts, in defence
of the truth of the Gospels. And we can show that the
self-same power, namely, that of Imperial Rome, which,
as its own historians testify,2 had crucified Jesus Christ and
persecuted the Christians, and beheaded and crucified them,
and cast them to wild beasts and into the fire, for asserting
the truth of the Gospels, was herself at length convinced of
the truth of the Gospels, and publicly owned her conviction.
Imperial Kome, the mistress of the world, which had made
the nations of the earth to pass under her military yoke,
bowed her own neck meekly beneath the yoke of Christ.
She changed her magnificent heathen temples into Christian
churches, and placed the Gospels on thrones in her Council
Chambers ; and the Cross of Jesus of Nazareth, — of
obscure Nazareth, in despised Galilee, — Who had been
- Tacitus, Annales, xv. 41. Suetonius, Claud., c. 25 ; Nero, c. 16.
T/te Gospels are true : Christ is God. 3
crucified at Jerusalem by the Roman governor Pontius
Pilate, dislodged the Roman eagle from the standards of her
legions, and was set on the diadems of her kings.
In the face of these facts — who can venture to say that
the Gospels are not true histories ?
The historical truth of the Gospels being established, it
follows as a logical inference that Jesus Christ wrought
those wonderful works which the Gospels amrm Him to
have done; that in the presence of multitudes of men —
many of them His bitter enemies — He healed the sick, cast
out devils, raised the dead, read the hearts of men, and
revealed their thoughts, and foretold future events ; in a
word that He showed Divine power, knowledge, and wisdom^
and that He was truly what He claimed to be 3 — GOD.
This being proved, we next proceed to observe, that Jesus
Christ, Who has been shown to be God, is presented to us
in the Gospels, which have been shown to be true, as holding
in His hand the OLD TESTAMENT, and as declaring it to be
true and Divinely inspired ; and as commanding all men to
receive and reverence it as such. The Incarnate Word has
set His own Divine seal on the Written Word, and has
delivered it to us as true, and as given by inspiration of
God.
That the Old Testament which is in our hands at the
present day is the same as the Old Testament which was in
the hands of Christ can be shown, not only by the testimony
of the Church, but by the independent witness of the
Jewish nation, which read it publicly in its synagogues in
Christ's age in all parts of the world, and which continues
so to read it at this day. The Jewish nation which rejected
Christ has been made to serve Christ by guarding the
Scriptures from which He proved His Messiahship. That
Christ received the Old Testament as true and Divine can
be shown by His constant appeals to it as such; as, for
instance, at the Temptation,4 and in the synagogue at
Nazareth,5 in His intercourse with the Jews,6 and with His
3 John v. 23, 26 ; viii. 58 ; x. 30 ; xvii. 22.
4 Luke iv. 4, 8, 12. •* Luke iv. 14—18.
0 Luke xvi. 17, 29, 31. John v. 47 ; x. 35.
B 2
4 Miscellanies.
disciples, especially on the evening of His resurrection ; ;
and that He acknowledged the entire Old Testament to be
true and Divinely inspired is evident, from His habitually
communicating with the Jews in their religious worship in
the synagogues,8 in which the Old Testament was publicly
read as true and Divinely inspired. Every Jew in that age
regarded the Old Testament as such"; and our Blessed
Lord, both by word and deed, sanctioned and confirmed
their judgment concerning it. If the Old Testament had
not been true and Divine, Christ would never have com
municated with the Jews in publicly reading it as God's
Word. He, Who in His zeal for His Father's honour twice
drave the buyers and sellers from the outer courts of His
Father's House,1 would have severely rebuked the Jews for
receiving the Old Testament as His Father's Word, if it had
not been what they affirmed it to be. He would have
condemned them for ascribing what was human to God ; He
would have denounced such an ascription as an outrage
against the Most High. He would not have abetted them
in it ; He would not have made Himself an accomplice with
those who were guilty of a forgery, and who put forth
counterfeit coin in the name of the King of kings. But He
did not censure them. He communicated with them publicly
in the recognition of the Old Testament as true and Divine ;
and therefore the Old Testament is shown to be the true
and inspired Word of God, by the unerring testimony of
the Son of God.
Let us now pass on to the NEW TESTAMENT. How may
we show its truth and inspiration ?
Our answer is, We find in the Gospels, already shown to
be true histories, that our Blessed Lord, Who has been
proved to be God, promised to send the Holy Spirit to the
Apostles, " to guide them into all truth," 2 and " to teach
them all things/' and to "bring all things to their re
membrance, whatsoever He had said unto them,"3 and to
7 Luke xxiv. 27, 44. 8 Luke iv. 16.
9 See Josephus, c. Apion. 1, § 8. 1 Matt xxi. 12. John ii. 15.
8 John xvi. 13. 3 John xiv. 26.
The Bible avouched by Christ. 5
" abide with them for ever "—that is, with them and their
successors ; 4 and that He declared that He would build His
Church upon a rock — namely, on Himself — and that the
gates of hell should not prevail against it ; " 5 and that He
would be with them " always (literally, all days), even unto
the end of the world." G
We find also that the Apostles, being thus taught and
guided into all truth; composed certain writings — Gospels
and Epistles — which they delivered to the Church, to be
received and read in her public congregations as of equal
authority and value with the Books of the Old Testament,
and as bearing the same title and designation — namely, Holy
Scripture7 — with the Books of the Old Testament, which
Christ Himself had acknowledged to be Divine; and we
find that the Universal Church, to which Christ promised
His Divine Presence and Spirit, has received those Books
and the rest of the New Testament as on a par with the
Old Testament, and publicly read both Testaments as true
and Divine.
This general reception and public reading of the New-
Testament by the Church of God is no other than the
testimony of Christ Himself dwelling in her, and of God the
Holy Ghost abiding in her for ever, and avouching the truth
and inspiration of the New Testament. Therefore well and
wisely does the Church of England appeal to this testimony,
and say, in her sixth Article, " All the Books of the New
Testament, as they are commonly received) we do receive and
account them canonical."
Oil the whole, then, this is our conclusion. We lift our
eyes upward to heaven^ and we see there the Son of God
enthroned in glory, and holding in His Divine hands both
Testaments, and delivering them to the world as the Word
of God.
What, then, shall we say to the sceptical caviller at Holy
Scripture ? What shall we reply to those who pretend to
know more of causes and effects in the natural world than
4 John xiv. 16. 5 Matt. xvi. 28.
6 Matt, xxviii. 20. ' Cf. 2 Pet. iii. 16.
6 Miscellanies.
the Great Creator Himself ? We would remind him that he
is lifting himself up against Christ, Who is God, and by Whom
all things were made,8 and Who declares that Scripture is the
Word of God — ' ' Knowing the terror of the Lord, we would
persuade men ;" 9 and we would warn the unbeliever that
Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords j1 that all men
will be raised by His voice from their graves, and be sum
moned to His judgment-seat; and that the Word which
He has spoken will judge them at that Day.2
Let us now proceed to observe, that the strength of this
general testimony of God the Son to the Inspiration of Holy
Scripture, is corroborated by subsequent considerations,
which accrue with cumulative force, and settle and stablish
us more firmly in the belief, that the Scriptures are the Word
of God.
1 . First, we are confirmed in our belief of the Inspiration
of the Bible by observing the evidences of a providential
design carried on during many ages in succession, for pro
tecting the Bible, and for assuring us that Holy Scripture is
God's Word.
If the Bible were not His Word, it would be nothing else
than a forgery put forth in His name. For, it professes to
deliver a message from God, and to give revelations of His
nature and attributes, and to unfold the hidden mysteries of
the spiritual world.
If, therefore, the Bible is not from God, it is a counterfeit
coin, bearing His impress : it is an outrage against Him, and
an imposture upon mankind. Consequently it would be
viewed with indignation by Him Who is a God of justice and
truth.
But look back upon the past. Ever since the Bible was
written, Almighty God has continued to protect it. When
the first books of the Bible — namely, the books of Moses —
were written, He received them under His divine guardian
ship in the Holy of Holies.3 In critical times, He has ever
interfered to save it. When the Old Testament was in peril
8 John i. 1—3. 9 2 Cor. v. 11. » Rev. xvii. 14.
8 John v. 28. Rom. xiv. 10. 2 Cor. v. 10.
8 See Deut. xxxi. 9, 24—26. Josh. xxiv. 26.
God's care for the Bible. 7
of being lost, through the corruption and idolatry of
Princes, Priests, and People, He brought forth the original
volume of the Law from its sacred retreat in the days of
good King Josiah, who in his own name, and in that of his
people, proclaimed it to be the Word of God.4
The subsequent dispersion of the Jews for their sins was
made ministerial to the preservation and dissemination of
God's Holy Word in almost all countries, where Synagogues
were erected by the Jews, in which the Old Testament was
publicly read every Sabbath day.
In an evil time Antiochus Epiphanes the King of Syria
arose, and set up " the abomination of desolation " in the
Temple of God at Jerusalem ; and endeavoured to compel
the Jews to worship the gods of the Heathen ; and sent
forth his own soldiers to destroy the copies of the Old Testa
ment, who rent in pieces the books of the Law which they found,
and burnt them with fire; and whosoever was found with any
such Book was put to death by the King's command.6
At that crisis Almighty God interposed to rescue His own
Word, and the persecuting King was suddenly cut off by
death.6
About a century and a half passed away, and the Son of
God came down from heaven. At that time the Word of
God was publicly read by the Jews in the Synagogues of
Palestine, and in almost every city of the civilized world.
But its sense was overlaid and obscured by human traditions.
The Son of God acknowledged the Old Testament in the
hands of the Jews. He owned it to be God's Word. He
showed His zeal for it by sternly rebuking the Pharisees for
making it of none effect by their tradition.^ But He never
rebuked them for receiving it as God's Word, which He
certainly would have done if it had not been what they pro
fessed it to be. No : on the contrary, He joined with them
in the service of their Synagogues, and in reading and ex
pounding the Old Testament as God's Word. And His
4 2 Kings xxii. 8—10. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 15.
* 1 Mac. i. 54, 55—57.
6 1 Mac. vi. 12, 13, 16. 2 Mac. ix. 11—18, 28.
7 Matt. xv. 3, 6.
8 Miscellanies.
Apostles, and His Church after them, being taught by the
Holy Ghost, sent by the Son of God, received the Old Testa
ment as inspired by God; and commanded all men to receive
it as such.
At the beginning of the fourth century after Christ, a
fierce persecution arose against His Church. The Emperor
of the Eoman World, Diocletian, endeavoured to destroy the
Bible. He ordered diligent search to be made in all parts of
the Empire for copies of the New Testament,8 and com
manded them to be burnt But God again interfered to
save it. In a few years afterwards, He raised up another
Sovereign of the Eoman World, Constantine, the first
Emperor who embraced Christianity ; and by his royal com
mand copies of the Holy Scriptures were multiplied, and
Churches were built, in which those Scriptures were read, as
the Inspired Word of God.
A thousand years passed away. Then was an evil time for
Holy Scripflure. The Bible was not dead ; but it was buried.
It was entombed in the sepulchre of a dead language. Not
to speak of other lands, but only of our own, not a single
copy of the Bible existed at that time in England in our
tongue. But then arose John Wickliffe. Five hundred
years ago, he translated the Bible into English.9 In that
age copies of the Bible could only be had in manuscript ;
and four and twenty years after his death it was decreed ' by
some in high place among us, that " no one should hereafter
translate any text into English, and that no book of this
kind should be read that was composed by John Wickliffe."
There was then a " famine of hearing God's Word 2 " in
England.
But in fifty years' time, the art of Printing was invented,
and William Caxton set up his press at Westminster.3 And
about the year 1526 William Tyndal made and published in
London his Translation of the Bible — the first Translation
8 Euseb. H. E. viii. 2.
9 See Lewis, History of English Translations of the Bible, pp. 18—27.
Lond. 1739.
1 By Archbishop Arundel, in a Constitution at Oxford, 1408.
- Amos viii. 11. 3 A.D. 1474.
God's care for the Bible in England. 9
that ever was printed in this land. The Author of this
Translation, and his coadjutor John Frith, died nobly as
Martyrs for the Faith ; and the light which they kindled has
never been put out. Two centuries and a half after the first
Translation of the Bible into English by Wickliffe, and
about two centuries and a half ago — that is, in the year of
our Lord 1611, — our own "Authorized Version" was pub
lished. That noble Translation was made by a goodly com
pany of pious and learned men, at the head of whom stood
a Dean of Westminster 4 ; and by God's blessing on their
labours, and on those of others in this and other lands,
especially our religious Societies, the Holy Scriptures are
now diffused everywhere. Their sound is gone out into all
lands, and their words into the ends of the world.5 This is
the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.6
Surely these events, extending over a range of more than
three thousand years, afford practical attestation from God
Himself, that the Bible is His Word. Surely they may
inspire us with the cheering assurance, that, however Satan
may assail it, God will protect it unto the end.
3. Another evidence of the Inspiration of Holy Scripture
is seen in the fulfilment of the Prophecies, which are con
tained therein. God, and God alome, can foresee the future.
He challenges false gods by saying, " Show us what shall
happen, declare us things for to come."7
Let this test be applied to the Books of the Old Testa
ment.
Can any other writings in the world be named, composed
at such different times, in such different places, and by the
instrumentality of such different persons, as the Books of
the Old Testament; and delivering such a long series of
Prophecies, as those, for instance, which concern the
Messiah, and begin with the Book of Genesis, and end with
that of Malachi ; can any other writings be named, contain
ing Prophecies so minute, so various, and seemingly so con
tradictory — as, for example, those which pre-announce a
4 Dean — afterwards Bishop — Andrewes. See Lewis's History of the
Translations of the Bible, p. 308.
6 Ts. xix. 4. 6 Ps. cxviii. 23. ; Isa. xli. 22.
io Miscellanies.
Messiah, suffering the most shameful and agonizing death,
and yet triumphing as a mighty Conqueror, and reigning as
a glorious King — and all punctually fulfilled, fulfilled by the
agency of that very people — the Jews — who heard those
prophecies every Sabbath day in their Synagogues ; and yet,
as St. Paul says, fulfilled them in condemning Him of whom
those Prophecies speak ?
Here, then, is another proof that the Books of the Old
Testament are animated by the breath of God.
4. Consider also the wonderful symmetry of the various
parts of the Bible.
Its subject-matter reaches from the Creation to the End
of time. Its Books were written by different persons in
distant ages and countries. And yet how marvellously do
they harmonize together ! They are like Christ's vesture,
woven without seam.8 They are like the wings of the Cheru
bim, as described by Ezekiel, intertwined and interlaced
together.9 The Jewish Doctors said that the words of the
Pentateuch make one word ; and there is a spiritual truth in
the saying. The Books of the Bible are all fitted together.
The Law prepares the way for the Prophets, and the
Prophets proclaim the Sanctity of the Law. The New
Testament lies hid in the Old Testament, and the Old
Testament is opened in the New. All the Books of the
Bible are joined together, and form one Book.
No human design could have produced such a result as
this. It is the work of Him who sees all things at a glance
to the end from tlie beginning,1 and with Whom one day is as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.2
Here is another evidence that the Bible is from God.
5. Let us also reflect what Jcind of persons they were,
who were employed to write the Bible.
The Bible, particularly the New Testament, professes to
unfold things hidden from the foundation of the world.3 The
Gospels claim to be records of the sayings of the Son of
God, revealing the secret Mysteries of His heavenly King-
8 John xix. 23. 9 Ezek. i. 9, 11, 12.
1 Isa. xlvi. 10. - 2 Pet. iii. 8.
3 Matt. xiii. 35.
Proofs of its Triith and Inspiration. 1 1
dom. And who were the persons chosen to write these
marvels ? Their enemies justly said that they were un
learned and ignorant men* True : such they were in
themselves, Publicans and Fishermen of Galilee. Yet these
unlearned and ignorant men have become the Teachers of
the World. They are the Historians of the greatest deeds
that ever were done ; they are the Chroniclers of the wisest
sayings that were ever spoken, and they are the utterers of
the most heavenly Sermons that were ever preached. And
the World has received their words, — has received them as
divine. The Gospels are read everywhere. God has
evangelized the learned and wise by means of the simple
and foolish ; and not the simple and foolish by means of the
learned and wise. As S. Augustine says, " He caught the
Orator by the Fisherman; and not the Fisherman by the
Orator." 5
The greatest sages of this world — the Bacons and
Newton s, the Keplers and Pascals — have deemed it their
highest privilege to sit down as little children at the feet of
the Evangelists.
How could this be done ?
Certainly not by the writers themselves. Of themselves
they could do nothing. Their sufficiency was of God.6 But
according to His promise, Christ sent the Holy Ghost, to
lead them into all truth, and to bring all things to their re
membrance, whatsoever He had said to them.
He chose weak instruments for this mighty work of evan
gelizing the world, in order that by the weakness of the
instruments chosen, and by the greatness of the work done
through their instrumentality, it might be evident to all,
that the work was not of them, but of God. The treasure
of heavenly truth was committed to earthen vessels, in order
that the excellency of the power of the Gospel might be seen
to be of God, and not of men.7
4 Acts iv. 13.
6 Piscatorem de Oratore non lucratus est Christus, sed Oratorem de
Piscatore. S. Augustine, de Utilitate Jejunii, ix., and Serm. xliii. and
Ixxxvii., and in Ps. cxlix.
6 2 Cor. iii. 5. 7 2 Cor. iv. 7.
1 2 Miscellanies.
6. Let us reflect also on the beneficent effects produced by
the Bible on the world.
Here is another proof that the Scriptures are from God.
The Bible speaks in God's name, and professes to be God's
Word. And if it is not in fact what in name it professes to
be, then it has a lie in every page, and it is not from God,
but from the Evil One. Every plant, which My Heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up, says Christ.8
And, A Tree is known by its fruits.9
What, then, have been the fruits of the Bible ?
Do they not show that the tree is a good tree, that it is a
tree of life, and that its leaves are for the healing of the
Nations ?'
This is the fact on which St. Paul insists, when he says
that All Scripture, or rather every Scripture? being
divinely inspired, or inbreathed by God, is also 3 profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto every good work. What is the
condition of men, families, and nations without it ? and what
is their condition, wherever they receive and obey it ?
The Bible, and the Bible alone, makes subjects loyal to
their Sovereigns, because it teaches them that, in obeying
their Sovereign, they are obeying God, and will be rewarded
hereafter by Him.4 The Bible, and the Bible alone, makes
Sovereigns rule rightly, because it reminds them that they
must render a strict account of their rule to the King of
kings. The Bible makes Judges and Magistrates judge
just judgment, because it tells them, that they must one
day stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ. The Bible
makes Masters kind to their Servants, because it declares to
all Masters, that they have a Master in heaven.* The Bible
makes Servants faithful to their Masters, because it assures
8 Matt. xv. 13. 9 Matt. vii. 16 ; xii. 33. Luke vi. 43.
1 llev. xxii. 2.
2 Trava ypatfifi i. e. Every portion of the Holy Book is inspired, and
forms a portion of a living organic whole.
3 KOI ; this is prohably the true reading of the text.
4 Horn. xiii. 1—3. 5 Eph. vi. 2. Col. iv. 1.
Mora effects of the Bible. 1 3
all Servants that they are Christ's freemen, and will receive
a reward for dutiful service, at the Great Day.6 The Bible
persuades busy men to forego their business, and makes
tender women forget their tenderness, and visit Prisons and
Hospitals, and minister at the bedsides of the sick, and
watch over the dying ; because they know, that what they
do to the least of Christ's brethren on earth, they do it unto
Him, and that He will requite them for it at the Great Day.7
The Bible, and the Bible alone, unlocks the fetters of the
slave, and makes all men brethren in Christ.8 The Bible
sends forth the Missionary to heathen lands, to loose the
chains of the soul. The Bible, and the Bible alone, operates
on the mainspring of human actions — the heart. The Bible
makes men honest and just, kind and charitable in their
thoughts and speeches, as well as in their acts, because it
teaches them, that all things are naked and open to the eyes
of Sim with Whom they have to do,1 and that He will bring
to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the
counsels of the hearts? The Bible makes Husbands and
Wives faithful and loving to each other, because it teaches,
that Marriage was instituted by God in Paradise, and that it
represents the spiritual union and wedlock between Christ
and His Church, and that whoever dishonours Marriage
desecrates a great Mystery.3 The Bible makes young men
and young women live pure, chaste, and holy lives, because
it teaches them that their bodies are temples of the Holy
Ghost, and that whosoever defiles the temple of God, him will
God destroy,* and that their bodies are members of Christ,
and are to be held in honour as such;5 and that their bodies
will be raised again from the grave, and that they must
then give an account of the things done in the body,6 and
that, if they have presented their bodies a living sacrifice to
God upon earth,7 in holiness and pureness of living, their
6 Eph. vi. 5. Col. iii. 22. Titus ii. 9. 1 Pet. ii. 18, 22.
7 Matt. xxv. 40. 8 Philem. 16.
1 Heb. iv. 13. 2 1 Cor. iv. 5.
3 Eph. v. 22—32. 4 I Cor. iii. 16, 17 ; vi. 19.
6 1 Cor. vi. 15. 1 Thess. iv. 4.
6 Rom. ii. 6 ; xiv. 12. 2 Cor. v. 10. » Rom. xii. 1.
1 4 Miscellanies.
bodies will rise from the grave, and live hereafter in heaven,
in everlasting health and angelic beauty, and be made like
unto Christ's glorious body, according to the mighty work
ing whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.8
What shall we say more ? The Bible is the fountain of
all true Patriotism and Loyalty in States ; it is the source
of all true wisdom, sound policy and equity in Senates,
Council-chambers, and Courts of Justice ; it is the spring of
all true discipline and obedience, and of all valour and
chivalry in Armies and Fleets, on the battle-field, and on
the broad sea. It is the origin of all probity and integrity
in Commerce and in Trade, in Marts and in Shops, in
Banking-houses and Exchanges; in the public resorts of
men, and in the secret silence of the heart. It is the pure
unsullied fountain of all love and peace, happiness, quiet
ness, and joy, in families and households. Wherever it is
duly obeyed, it makes the desert of the World to rejoice and
blossom as the rose.9
These are the fruits of the Bible. Surely we may conclude
from them, that the Tree which bears them has been planted
by the hand of God, and is watered by the dews and showers
of His Spirit, and is warmed by the sunshine of His grace,
and will flourish for evermore.
7. Let us therefore acknowledge our own spiritual privi
leges, and our cause for thankfulness to God. The Jews of
old were greatly favoured by Him, but how much more
favoured are we ! " What advantage hath the Jew ? " asks
the Apostle. " Much every way," he replies, " chiefly because
unto them were committed the oracles of God/' And may
we not much more say, " What advantage hath the
Christian ? Much every way ; " even more than the Jew.
For we have a stronger assurance of the Divine Inspiration
of the Hebrew Scriptures than the Jews themselves had.
They received the Old Testament as inspired, on the
testimony of their forefathers ; but it is delivered to us, as
inspired, by the Son of God. Here is an inexpressible
comfort; here indeed is a joyful assurance, in days like
these, of rebuke and blasphemy. Here we have hope and
* Phil. iii. 21. " Isa. xxxv. 1.
Moral use of Difficulties in the Bible. 1 5
peace in the sorrows of life, and in the hour of death. Our
belief in the Truth and Inspiration of the Bible, rests on a
foundation that can never be shaken. It rests on the
testimony of Christ. Therefore we may -dwell safely, and
defy the storms raging around us. Let the rain descend ;
let the floods of Unbelief come, and the winds of false
Doctrine blow, and beat upon our house ; it will not fall, for
it is built upon a Rock.1 It is built upon the Rock of
Ages ; 2 it is built upon Jesus Christ.
Let us not be staggered or perplexed by cavils against it.
The Written Word of God is like the INCARNATE WORD Him
self, — set for the fall, and also for the rising of many in
Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against. 3
Holy Scripture is set for our moral probation, which
supposes trial and difficulty. It shows what we are. It
displays what manner of spirit we are of.4 It is a test and
touchstone of our fitness for heaven. It proves, whether
we have those 'moral habits and tempers of mind, — that
distrust of ourselves, and that sense of our need of the light
of the Holy Ghost, without which no man can hope to be
able to see the truth. It shows whether we possess those
dispositions of modesty, meekness, and docility, and readiness
to weigh evidence with candour and fairness, without which
no man is fit for the kingdom of God.5
The difficulties in Scripture vanish into nothing, when they
are compared with the evidence in its favour; they are
merely as dust in the balance, when set against the difficulty,
or rather the moral impossibility, of resisting the testimony
of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost, to the truth and
inspiration of the Bible. They are mere molehills to that
mountain.
Holy Scripture is set for our fall, — if we proudly set up
our own reason against divine revelation, and in opposition
to the testimony of Christ, and of the Holy Ghost, and if,
with a partial eye to difficulties in single texts taken by
themselves, and without due regard to the general scope of
1 Matt. vii. 24, 25. " I"*- xxvi- 4-
3 Luke ii. 34. 4 Luke ix. 55,
5 Luke ix. 62.
1 6 Miscellanies.
the whole, and to the divine evidence of its Truth and
Inspiration, we take occasion to cavil at its contents, and
deny its divine origin and authority. And then our cavils
will be our punishment, They will be the recoil of our own
sin against ourselves. They will provoke God to withdraw
His grace from us, and to leave us to ourselves ; and then
we shall be spiritually blind. For how can we hope to see
light without Him Who is the Light ?
But, on the other hand, thanks be to God, Scripture is
set for our rising,- — for our rising to heavenly glory, — if we
use those difficulties aright, and are led thereby to acknow
ledge the weakness of our own faculties in their present
state, and our consequent need of divine grace; and to
pray to God fervently for it ; and to exercise humility, and
to thank God for what is perfectly clear in Holy Scripture ;
and for the witness of Christ to Scripture. " Lord to whom
shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life." All
our difficulties are dissolved in the crucible of our Faith in
Him. And thus we learn to tarry the Lord's leisure, and to
look forward with patience, faith, and hope to that blessed
time, when all those difficulties will be dispersed, and the
film andmist, which now cloud our spiritual vision, will be
purged away; and we shall no longer see, as now, through a
glass darkly, but shall SCR face to face, and know even as we
are known.6
c 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
ON THE IN TEEPEE TATION
OF THE BIBLE.
PAET I.
WE pass from the Inspiration of Scripture to its Interpreta
tion. The Evil One tempts men to assail the Bible; First,
by denying its Inspiration; secondly, by interpreting it
amiss. If he fails in the first device, he resorts to the
second; and his end is answered by either of the two.
The true sense of Scripture is Scripture. But by giving
to it a wrong sense, men make God's Word to become their
own word, or even the Tempter's word ; l and thus Scripture
is used for our destruction,2 instead of making us wise unto
salvation.3 We equally lose Scripture, whether we are
deprived of its text, or of its meaning.4
The rule which some persons have laid down for inter
preting Holy Scripture is one which at first seems to
commend itself by its simplicity. They affirm, that, for
ascertaining the sense of Holy Scripture, men may be
content to rely on those aids which are afforded by their
own intellectual powers and by scientific researches. Others
rely no less confidently on their own illumination alone.
These rules have been applied in various ways to the
interpretation of Holy Scripture by persons richly endowed
with mental gifts and intellectual resources.
1 Matt. iv. 6. 2 2 Pet. iii. 6. 3 2 Tim. iii. 15.
4 As Tertullian says, Apol. c. 17, " Tantum veritati obstrepit adulter
sensus, quantum et corruptor stylus ; " and he shows that the ancient
heretics practised both these devices, c. 37.
VOL. II. C
1 8 Miscellanies.
It will be very instructive to examine, what fruits have
been produced thereby ?
Let us, therefore, now pass them in review ; especially as
they have displayed themselves during the last three
centuries among certain classes of distinguished persons in
a Country celebrated for profound learning, patient study,
and critical sagacity.8
The pious and learned Theologians of GERMANY — for of
that Country we speak— who flourished in the sixteenth
century, rendered great service to Christianity by defending
the Truth against the errors and usurpations of the Roman
Church, which claimed to be the supreme Arbitress of Faith,
and the infallible Interpreter of Holy Scripture; and yet
warped its sense by strange perversions,6 and made that
sense to vary with her own practice/
For a time the Divines of Germany were content to
regulate their interpretations of Holy Scripture by what
they called their "symbolical books;8 that is to say, by
* The materials of the history here traced maybe seen in Baumgarten-
Crusius, Dogmengeschichte, i. pp. 637 — 727, Jena, 1832. Hagenbach's
Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte, 4th edition, 1857, English translation ,
Edinburgh, 1850, §§ 211—300. Staudlin's History of Theological
Literature. Tholuck, Glaubenwiirdigkeit der evangelischen Geschichte,
pp. 1 — 51, Hamburg, 1838. Dewar's Historj* of German Protestantism,
Oxford, 1844. Tennemann's Manual of the History of Philosophy,
English translation, Oxford, 1832. Menzel, Die deutsche Literatur,
Stuttgard, 1836, i. pp. 187 — 214. A Series of Papers on German Theology
in the Irish Ecclesiastical Journal for 1848, pp. 176, 209, 226, 244, 261,
280. Dr. Hase's Hutterus Redivivus, Leipzig, 1855, §§ 14 — 27, and
especially Dr. Kahnis, Internal History of German Protestantism, Leipzig,
2nd edit. 1860, translated by Meyer, Edinburgh, 1856 ; and Schwartz,
Zur Geschichte der neuesten Theologie, 2nd edit. Leipzig. 1856.
In speaking of Germany and German Theology in the present Discourse,
the Author has carefully abstained from introducing any statement,
•which may not be substantiated from the writings of learned Theologians
of that country.
« As Pope Innocent III., interpreting " the greater light to rule the
day," in Gen. i. 16, to be a symbol of the Papacy (Decret. Gregor. IX. lib.
i. tit. xxxiii.) ; and Pope Boniface interpreting the two swords in Luke
xxii. 38, to mean the temporal and spiritual power of the Papacy (Extrav.
lib. i. tit. viii.).
7 As Cardinal Cusanus allows, Opera, p. 833, ed. Basil, 1566.
a E.g. The Augsburg Confession ("Confessio Augustana"), A.D. 1530.
German Confessions — the Pietists. 1 9
those Formularies of Faith which had been framed by their
most celebrated Reformers, Martin Luther, Melanchthon,
and others.
But these Formularies were too numerous and too
cumbrous for the purpose ; and not being grounded on the
solid basis of Holy Scripture as interpreted by the universal
consent, and as embodied in the common practice, of ancient
Christendom,9 and being the Confessions of newly-formed
communities, were regarded by many as possessing little
higher authority than the works of private individuals.
A class of persons arose, distinguished by fervent piety,
practical religion, and strictness of life, who were impatient
of the rigid restraints imposed by forms and confessions of
Faith.
These were the Pietists,1 as they were called, who exer
cised great influence for a time.2
In their ardour and enthusiasm, they disparaged Reason,
Theological Learning, Literature, and Science, as of little
service to Religion ; and formed lesser churches 3 within the
Church ; and characterized themselves as the spiritual, the
regenerate, the converted, the elect ; and asserted that by
their own inner illumination they were able to discern and
expound the true sense of Holy Scripture.
But they could not long hold their ground.4 The philo-
The Apology of the Confession, by Melanchthon. The Smalkaldic
Articles, A.D. 1536. The Catechisms of Martin Luther, 1529. The For
mula Concordise, 1577. And among the Calvinists or " Reformed," the
Institutes of Calvin, 1536, and some of the local confessions, such as the
Tetrapolitana, Helvetica, Basileensis. Cp. Hagenbach, § 222.
9 E. g. The Lutheran and Calvinistic formularies could not be said to
stand on this foundation, in regard to the doctrine of the Eucharist, and
with respect to Ecclesiastical Order and Regimen. The Calvinistic
scheme of Reprobation, which is at variance with all the teaching of the
ancient Eastern Church, is alone sufficient to disqualify that scheme for
general acceptance.
1 Such as Spener, born 1635, died 1705 ; Francke, Lange, and others,
from whom sprang the Moravians. See Hagenbach, § 218. Kahnis, pp.
98—110.
2 Especially by their " Collegia Pietatis ; " and by the Theological
School at Halle.
3 " Ecclesiolas in Ecclesia."
4 Cp. Baumgarten-Crusius, Dogmengeschichte, i. pp. 646 — 657.
c 2
2O Miscellanies.
sophy of Descartes and Leibnitz, which was then prevalent
in Europe, produced a powerful effect on the Religion of
Germany,5 especially in the Interpretation of Scripture.
That Philosophy was at first employed on the side of
Religion. It set itself to show the reasonableness of
Christianity. It then applied Human Reason to demonstrate
the doctrines of the Gospe]. It affirmed, that the super
natural truths of Christianity, — such as even the Mystery
of the Incarnation, and of the ever-blessed Trinity, and the
Atonement, — might be proved by mathematical reasoning.6
But thus, while it professed to be the Apologist of
Christianity, it was in fact its Assailant. By claiming for
the light of Nature more than was its due, it derogated from
the dignity of Scripture. By asserting the supremacy of
Reason it undermined the foundations of Faith.
As might have been anticipated, Rationalism, as it was
named, destroyed Pietism, as Pietism had superseded
Dogmatism.7 Creeds and Confessions of Faith had been
thrown aside, in the fond hope that the Bible alone would
reign supreme; but the result was, that Philosophical
Systems set themselves up, and were established in its
place. Thus an anti-dogmatic Spiritualism prepared the way
for a creed! ess Rationalism.
But Rationalism was not content with that victory.
Applying itself to the Interpretation of Holy Scripture,
and aided by Classical Learning,8 Philology, Criticism, and
History, but of a cold and phlegmatic temperament, it pro-
* Particularly under the influence of Christian Wolf (born 1679, died
J.754), though he hijnself did not carry out his own principles to their
results ; and he and some of his followers professed a devoted attach
ment to the Lutheran formularies and Kitual. Cp. Kahnis, pp, 112 —
115.
6 Cp. the authorities quoted in the Notes to the late H. J. Rose's Dis
courses at Cambridge, 1825, p. 121 ; and Kahnis, pp. 115. 324
7 " The zeal for Confessions of Faith had been extinguished in the
second half of the 17th century." Kahnis, p. 113.
8 In classical learning by Ernesti, in sacred criticism by Michaelis and
Wetstein, in Church-history by Mosheim. They assisted in giving the
first impulses to the movement which afterwards gained a power and
extent little foreseen by them, who had many points of contact with the
Pietists, and also with the Dogmatists.
Rationalistic Interpretation of Scripture. 2 1
claimed itself sent into the world to shed new light on the
Bible. It scrutinized the sacred records of the Miracles
related in Holy Writ. It would tolerate nothing super
natural.9 It wearied itself, with subtle ingenuity, to explain
away all that is marvellous in those records, and to reduce
the Miracles of Scripture to the low level of physical
phenomena.1
Indeed, it did not hesitate to assert, that Miracles are
impossible j and that the divine Omnipotence is never seen
in the interruption of the course of Nature, but is exerted
only in the steady conservation of its Laws.2
It treated the Prophecies of Holy Scripture in a like
sceptical spirit. It would not allow them to have more
than one meaning. They must be taken only in a literal
sense. And, if it was urged, that Jesus Christ Himself
and His Apostles in the New Testament had applied those
Prophecies to the Messiah, it was said by these new philo
sophic Interpreters of Scripture, that the Words of our
Lord and His Apostles must be interpreted on a principle
of Accommodation.3 That is to say, it must henceforth be
d In this aspect, ' nationalism ' is often termed ' Naturalism ' by
German theological writers.
1 As may be seen in the expository writings of Dr. Paulus (1762 —
1851), Gabler, Wegscheider, Eck, Henke, Hartmann, Eiems, Bretschnei-
der, Eckermann, Hezel, Kuinoel, Rohr, and many others, whose names
have been already forgotten. Cp. Tholuck, Glaubenwiirdigkeit, p. 11.
Kahnis, pp. 171—186. Hagenbach, § 289.
The results of Rationalism displayed themselves fully in the Wolfen-
buttel Fragments, as they were called, which were written by Eeimar,
Professor at Hamburg (who died 1768), and published by Lessing 1774-8,
and which " defended the right of Theism, attacked the Church's doctrine
of Inspiration, and subjected the Biblical History to a bold criticism."
Kahnis, p. 145. They were portions of a larger work entitled "Apology
for the Rational Worshippers of God," which has now been printed in
extenso, in 1850. The original MS. is in the Hamburg City Library.
Its tendency is to " resolve Scripture and the doctrine of the Church into
theistic Rationalism.'' Kahnis, p. 146.
- Cp. Dr. W. H. Mill's remarks in his Essay on Pantheistic Principles,
Cambridge, 1840, pp. 131—140.
3 The theory of Accommodation was adopted by Semler (A.D. 1767 ; cp.
Kahnis, pp. 123. 182), Vogel, Eckermann, Van Hemert, Kirsten, and
many others. Cp. Rosenniiiller, Histor. Interpretation^, i. p. 26. Hagen
bach, § 289. .
2 2 Miscellanies.
assumed, that, in their intercourse with the Jews, they had
adapted their own language to their prejudices and opinions
as if Christ, on the contrary, had not sternly denounced
the sins of the Jewish People, Priests, and Eulers ; and as
if He had not, therefore, suffered death at their hands.
The plain language of our Lord and His Apostles was not
to be supposed to convey their true meaning, nor to have
a perpetual and universal sense, but only a temporary and
local significance, adjusted with dexterous pliancy to the
temper and circumstances of the age, in which that language
was uttered. In fact, these Expositors of Scripture did
not hesitate to insinuate, that Jesus Christ, Who is the
Truth,4 and His Apostles, the heavenly commissioned
Preachers and Martyrs of the Truth, were guilty of
duplicity and cowardice.
This principle of Accommodation was applied not only
to explain away the Evangelical interpretations of the
Prophecies8 quoted in the New Testament, but also to
dissolve into allegorical Fables all that was said in the
Gospels concerning the operation of the Holy Spirit, and
the personality of the Evil Spirit, and the History of the
Temptation, and the narratives of demoniacal possessions,6
and the appearances of Angels, and even the awful realities
of a Judgment to come.
If, again, it was urged, that such notions as these were
opposed to the teaching of ancient Christian Writers, and
to the plain sense of Scripture as commonly understood ;
it was alleged by these Expositors that the testimony7 of
Ancient Authors could not be relied on ; that many of the
4 John xiv. 6.
6 As was done by Eckermann, Ammon, Wegscheider, Eichhorn, and
others.
6 This was reproduced in " Essays and Reviews," p. 37 : " There are
parts of Scripture more usefully interpreted ideologically than in any
other, as for instance the history of the Temptation of Jesus by Satan,
and accounts of demoniacal possessions."
7 Especially by Semler (born 1725, died 1791). who went so far as to
hazard the assertion that the writings ascribed to Justin Martyr, S. Ire-
naeus, and Tertullian are forgeries. Cp. Kahnis, p. 123 : •' Semler did all
that he could to take off the halo which rested on the first centuries." See
also Bp. Kaye on Tertullian, p. 66.
Kanfs Influence on Biblical Interpretation. 23
works ascribed to them were forgeries \ and that the sense
which is assigned to the Scriptures by the majority of
Christians, is due to the influence of Creeds and Contessions
of Faith, by which their minds have been warped and
biassed, and from which they ought to be set free.8
A modification was introduced into Rationalism by the
Philosophy of one of the most celebrated Metaphysicians
at the close of the last century. It was the fundamental
• principle of that Philosophy^ — the Philosophy of Kant,9 —
that Human Eeason is not sufficient to discover what was
divine. It even professed a desire to make common cause
with Christianity. But the founder of that system claimed
for what he called "pure Reason," the power of producing
in the mind a moral conviction of the existence of God, of
Human Liberty, and of Immortality. Unhappily, however,
he did not proceed to infer the need of Revelation from the
weakness of Reason ; but he subordinated Revelation to
Reason by representing Revelation merely as the medium
by which the truths cognizable by Reason are communicated
to the mind. He would not build moral duty and virtue
on the basis of Christian Faith, but he set up an Ethical
System independent of the Gospel, and paramount to it.
Religion was to be moved from the foundation of external
and internal evidence, and to be placed on the substruction
of the internal consciousness of Mankind. The essential
truths of the Gospel were to be dissolved into ideas. The
Mysteries of the Christian Faith were to pass off by a sort
of philosophical metempsychosis into ethical propositions.
Man Was to be able to purify and perfect himself, by his
8 As Was also alleged by Semler in his " Ihstitutio ad doctrinam Chris-
tianam liberaliter discendain," Halis, 1774: and his allegation has been
recently revived in " Essays and Reviews," pp. 343. 353. 355. Semler
lived to see the consequences of his own principles, and exposed himself to
the charge of inconsistency by his protests against those who, like the
unhappy sceptic and profligate, Bahrdt, carried his principles to their
logical results. Semler protested against him ; and yet " it was Semler's
critical writings that had brought him to the knowledge that Scripture
was purely a human book." See Kahnis, pp. 135 — 145.
9 Born 1724. died 1804. Cp. Bauingarten-Crusius, i. p. 704. Hageii-
bach, §§ 278. 288. 298. Kahnis, pp. 165-7.
24 Miscellanies.
own will, without the graces of the Holy Ghost ; and to
save himself by his own works, without the Death of Christ.
The historical facts and supernatural doctrines of Chris
tianity were to be only figurative shadows, mere hiero-
glyphical symbols of universal religious truth residing in
the reason of man.1
Thus, though the Author of this system modified the
form of Rationalism, he gave a new impulse to it. He set
up practical Reason, or Moral Sense, or Consciousness, as
the standard, to which everything was to be referred, and
by which everything was to be judged. Scriptures, Sacra
ments, Prophecies, Miracles, Creeds, and Confessions of
Faith must all be tried by this Rule.*
Man, in the exercise of his Reason, whose postulates were
to be Law, was to be supreme Arbiter over all. A pure
Religion of Reason, — or rather a moral Deism,3— was to
absorb all into itself.
But Rationalism in both its phases was tried, and found
wanting. Rationalism was pronounced by Infidels them
selves to be more irrational than any of the supernatural
phenomena of Christianity which it attempted to solve.4
They declared, with truth, that the wonders of Revelation
were far less wonderful than the portentous processes and
monstrous assumptions, by which they were explained
away by Rationalism. How credulous is Incredulity ! And
1 Compare the remarks on the Philosophy of Kant in the late Rev.
Archer Butler's Letters on the Development of Christian Doctrine, p.
87.
2 The famous Ninety-five Theses, published at the Tercentenary of the
Reformation, 1817, by Glaus Harms, Archdeacon in Kiel, were a mani
festo from Lutheranism, of the effects produced by Rationalism on what
had been the doctrine of Luther. See Kahnis, pp. 220, 221, where some
of these Theses are cited.
3 And from this " species of deism " (says Dr. Staudlin, History of
Theology, p, 13) " various others arose, which agreed in nothing but in
rejecting Miracles as any essential part of Religion."
4 " Under the pretext," (said even the sceptical Lessing,) " of making
us rational Christians, it makes us irrational philosophers." " In this
Christianity of Reason he saw neither Reason nor Christianity." Kahnis,
p. 151. Lessing himself, it seems probable, verged at length to Pantheism.
Ibid. pp. 156. 162.
Pantheism a reaction from Rationalism. 25
reasonable and religious men proved that nationalism is
contradicted by the World's History, and by the nature
and needs of mankind, unable to subsist long on its husks;5
and is at war with the testimony of Scripture interpreted
in its plain grammatical sense,6 and is refuted by the
universal consent of the Ancient Church. Others, indeed,
endeavoured to give it a new phase, while they, in fact,
preserved its principle. They attempted7 to bridge over
the gulf which separated the Rational and Supernatural;
but in vain. Rationalism, in its turn, was to be supplanted
by another form of philosophical speculation, which claimed
also a right to give a new direction to the interpretation of
Holy Scripture.
This new Philosophy8 was a reaction from Rationalism.
Rationalism had admitted the historic element of the Gos
pel, but it had rejected the supernatural. This new Sys
tem admitted the marvellous, but rejected the historical.
8 Cp. Schwartz on the causes of what he calls the uprooting of Rational
ism — " die Ausrottung des Rationalismus," pp. 66 — 95.
6 Cp. Tholuck, Glaubenwiirdigkeit, pp. 12, 13.
7 Especially Schleiermacher and De Wette, in their eclectic systems.
The former, while he maintained the historical reality of Christ's person,
and the truth of much that is recorded of His actions in the Gospels,
seemed to be satisfied with resolving the doctrines of Christianity into
reflections of the consciousness, and expressions of the feelings, of the Chris
tian community. The latter accepted these doctrines as exercising a benefi
cial influence on human practice. But both of them indulged in arbitrary
speculations as to the genuineness and authenticity of the documents on
which those doctrines rest, and treated the books of the Old and New
Testament in a sceptical spirit of reckless criticism. Cp. Schwartz, Zur
Geschichte der neuesten Theologie, pp. 56 — 63.
8 That of Schelling and of Hegel ; the former asserting the identity of
God and Nature ; the latter regarding God as the Absolute Idea ever de
veloping itself in the world, and manifesting itself to the human mind ;
so that the History of the World and of its successive Religious Systems
is only a series of visible exhibitions and revelations of the Absolute Idea
unfolding itself to the view. " The absolute Religion, to which all others
are preparatory, is Christianity. In the God-man, that was manifested
which is the substance of all Religion, viz. the Unity of Man with God.
.... Man's knowledge of God is God's knowledge of Himself ; God
evolves Himself in the Mind of Man." See Kahnis, p. 200. Hegel used
the word liberty in the sense that " the actions of God appear as ours."
Hagenbach, § 298.
26 Miscellanies.
Kationalisnr had spared the Person of Christ, but had taken
away the attributes ; this new Philosophy left the attributes,
but denied the existence of the Person. This Philosophy
was a revival of that which identified the Creature with the
Creator. It was, in fact, Pantheism, in a more spiritual
form. According to this theory, God is Nature, and Nature
is God. God is the Universe, and the Universe is God.
According to it, God is not a Person, distinct from other
Persons, but He is the Personality of all tilings. It is not
man that thinks ; but God thinks in man. In a word, God
is humanized, that man may be divinized ; God is in man,
in order that man may be God.9
By this false Philosophy, which absorbs the Godhead into
the Universe, the events recorded in the Gospel were
despoiled of their historical truth, and the Person of Christ
Himself was dissolved into a visionary Phantom.
The facts of the Evangelical History were reduced into
ideal fictions, engendered by the cravings of Humanity, and
by the inspirations of its Imagination ; and according to
this theory they had clustered around that visionary Phantom,
like legendary Fables grouped about the fabulous form of
some heroic personage — such as Hercules or Theseus — in
ancient heathen Mythology.1
Mankind, as such, was the Messiah of this so-called
Christian Pantheism. Humanity was the God made Man.
Humanity was the sinless One. Humanity it was which
worked Miracles : Humanity it was which died and rose
again in Christ, and ascended into heaven; and through
faith in this impersonal Christ, and in this deified Humanity,
man attains justification, and enjoys everlasting glory.
Under the influence of this theory the wonderful works
performed on Earth by the Incarnate Son of God were
dissolved into dream-like pictures of inner spiritual works
done in the soul of man.
9 Cp. Schwartz, Zur Geschichte der neuesten Theologie, Leipzig, 18a6,
p. 26.
1 This Philosophy developed itself in the domain of Biblical Exegesis,
in "Das Leben Jesu (the Life of Jesus) kritisch bearbeitet," by D. F.
Strauss, Tubingen, 1835, 6, 7.
Review of Biblical Interpretation. 2 7
Such was the process of Interpretation applied by this
philosophy to the New Testament.2 It followed as a neces
sary consequence from this Philosophy, that God Himself
was to be banished from His own world, and Man to be set
up in His place.3
"We have now reviewed some of the various forms, in
which the principle of private Interpretation has manifested
itself during the last three conturies.4
What have been their effects on Christian Doctrine ?
When the History of the Miracles of Scripture was
degraded to a record of ordinary physical phenomena, or to
legendary fables of romance; when the Prophecies of Holy
Scripture were severed from the Person of Christ; when
that Blessed Person was divested of its historical reality ;
and when, with self-idolizing pride and impious presumption,
Man substituted himself in the place of his Saviour, and
became his own Emmanuel; when the solemn words of
Christ were treated as ephemeral effusions adapted to the
fickle fashions of the times in which they were spoken, and
not as the words of One Who spake as never man spake,5
and Who said that Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but
My Words shall not pass away,6 then there was no longer
any place for the Articles of the Christian Faith ; then there
was no foundation left for the Doctrine of Original Sin, and
for the Atonement made on the Cross by Christ, Very God
a Compare the remarks upon it in Dr. W. H. Mill's Observations on
Pantheistic Principles, p. 49, and Dr. Kahnis, pp. 249, 250.
" 3 The Pantheism of Hegel and Strauss produced the Anthropologism
of Feuerbach, which is in fact Atheism, Cp. Schwartz, Zur Geschichte
der neuesten Theologie, 1856, pp. 26, 27, and Hagenbach, § 298 (last
German edn.) ; and it stands in intimate connexion with the theory of
Correlation propounded by Eothe, viz. that there is no such a being as
God without the world : and that the World is a development of the
Creature out of itself. Cp. Schwartz, pp. 291, 292.
4 The destructive Criticism of the Tubingen School, of Bruno Bauer,
Peuerbach, and others, who have followed and gone beyond Strauss him
self (Kahnis, p. 250), belongs rather to the History of Christian Evidence
than of Biblical Interpretation.
5 John vii. 46. 6 Mark xiii. 31. Luke xxi. 33.
28 Miscellanies.
and Very Man ; then there was no more room for the great
Mystery of Godliness,7 the Mystery of the Incarnation,
which is the root of Christian Faith, of Christian Hope, and
of Christian Love.
We might indeed be perplexed by these strange theories,
if they were new, or if they were consistent with each
other.
First, they are not new.
Many of the theories, which have been Recently imported
among us from abroad, are only reproductions of errors
which grew on our own soil more than a century ago> and
thence were spread on the Continent,8 whence they have
been now brought back, to reappear among ourselves.
The Rationalism and Mysticism of Germany are not
exotics, but flourished in rank luxuriance many years ago
on British ground. In the theories of Rationalism we
may recognize the speculations of a Tindal/ In the ideolo
gical notions of those who would allegorize the Miracles of
Holy Scripture, we may see the reveries of the Familists,
and of Woolston1 and his votaries. They who deny the
applicability of the Prophecies of the Old Testament to the
actions and sufferings of Christ, are only repeating the
exploded allegations of a Collins 2 and others. The profane
pretence that our Blessed Lord and His Apostles in their
intercourse with the Jews did not say what they really
meant, but accommodated themselves to the prejudices of
their hearers, is the wretched figment of a Morgan.3 In
the presumptuous arrogance of Pantheism, which confounds
7 1 Tim. iii. 16.
8 As is observed by German writers ; see Hagenbacb, § 274, -who says
that " the works of English Deists were translated into German, and
welcomed with eagerness by many." And Dr. Kahnis (p. 41) says
" English Deism met with a very favourable reception in Germany among
the educated middle classes.''
9 Author of " Christianity as old as the Creation," Lond. 1730. See
Dr. Leland's view of English Deistical writers, Lond. 1798, vol. i. pp. 126
—132
1 See Dr. Leland, p. 113, and Rosenmiiller, Hist. Interpr. i. p. 248.
Cp. Bp. Marsh's Lectures on the Interpretation of the Bible, p. 363.
3 Dr. Leland, pp. 102. 109.
3 Dr. Leland, pp. 151, 152.
German Heresies imported from England. 29
the Creator with the Creature, and identifies man with God,
we may see the spirit of a Toland/ who revived the dogmas
of Spinoza.5
Here is reason for self-abasement and repentance; but
here is also ground for hope.
A reason there is for selfrabasement and repentance ; for
4 In his Pantheisticon, Lond. 1720. Cp. Bauragarten-Crusius, p.
677.
5 Dr. W. H. Mill has observed (p. 54), that " as the old and now gene
rally forgotten writers of England furnished weapons to the earlier Ger
man Rationalists, so now at the close of his philosophic transcendenta
lism of Infidelity, Strauss defends hinjself by translating a book from the
English," 1840.
The following paragraphs are from a work entitled, " Rationalism and
Deistic Infidelity," three letters from the Rev. Dr. M'Caul. London,
1861, p. 5 :—
" Having thus on German authority ascertained that Rationalism,
Naturalism, and Deism are synonyms, let us now follow the German
divines as they trace historically the connexion between its modern Ger
man phases and the old English original. That this connexion does exist
they entertain no manner of doubt. ' It has sometimes been asked,' says
Staudlin (Hist, of Rationalism, p. 446,) ' who were the forerunners of the
new, especially of the German, Rationalists. . . . ? The true forerunners
of our Rationalists are such English Deists as Toland, Tindal, and Mor
gan.' In like manner Hagenbach (Church Hist, of 18th and 19th Cent.
Part i. p. 198), after speaking of the influence and effects of the Wolfian
philosophy, goes on to say, ' But notwithstanding, the Wolfian philosophy
was innocent when compared with that which, under the name of Deism
or Naturalism, came over from England and France, and propagated
itself in Germany.' This testimony is confirmed by Professor Tholuck,
so well known and highly esteemed in this country. He devotes a whole
section of his ' Historical Sketch of Religious Revolution in Germany
since 1750,' to ' the Influence of the English Deists ' (Vermischte Schriften,
Part ii. pp. 23. 89). He begins thus : ' Incomparably more important
than could have been expected beforehand, and than is generally received,
has been both directly and indirectly the influence of English Deism upon
Germany. We find amongst the English what is not found in France, in
Holland, or Italy. Already in the first half of the eighteenth century
they were possessed of a tolerably complete system of Rationalism. It
would be well worth the trouble to bring together the views of the
English Deists, in the departments of criticism, exegesis, dogmatics,
morality, and Church History. It would thus be seen how few of the
Rationalist views belong to modern times : it would be clear how little
foundation there is for Dr. Bretschneider's assertion that Rationalism has
been brought forth by the prodigious progress of Science in the nineteenth
century."
30 Miscellanies.
we ourselves sowed the seed, of which we are reaping the
harvest. The errors now propagated among us in England
are of English growth.6 Let us therefore acknowledge
God's justice, and pray for His forgiveness. " Remember
not, Lord, our iniquities, nor the iniquities of our forefathers,
neither take Thou vengeance of our sins."
Here also is ground for hope. If the theories had taken
root, which were propagated in this country more than a
hundred years ago, and have now been revived among us.
there would be reason for alarm. But this was not the case,
Those speculations at their first appearance startled and
shocked the religious mind of England. But soon they
were examined and refuted. They passed away and were
forgotten. To quote the words of Burke,7 " We, too, in
England have had writers who made some noise in their
day; but they now repose in oblivion. Who, born in the
last forty years, has read one word of Collins, Toland, and
Tindal, and Morgan, who called themselves Freethinkers ? >3
Indeed we might ascend higher. It might be shown
that similar theories were put forth and refuted even in
primitive times. The error of those who would apply
mathematical demonstration to prove mysteries of Faith,
and who will not accept anything which cannot be dis
covered by Reason, is not of recent origin.8 The visionary
dreams of the Idealists, who would dissolve the historic
personality of Christ into a mere spectral illusion, are as old
as the first century.9 The historic realities and doctrinal
truths of Holy Scripture were allegorized into visionary
ideas by the- Gnostics of subapostolic times.1 The theory of
6 Sceptical writers were even fostered and encouraged in England in
the 16th and 18th centuries, by some in high place and power among us.
See Bp. Warburton's interesting observations in his Dedication to Lord
Mansfield of the fourth, fifth, and sixth books of his Divine Legation,
Feb. 2, 1765. Works, vol. iv. pp. 2—6.
" Burke, ^Reflections on the French Eevolution. Works, vol. v. p.
171.
8 See the Ancient Author in Euseb. v. 28.
9 See S. Ignatius ad Smyrn. c. 2, 3, ad Trail, c. 10, 11. S. Polycarp
ad Phil, c. 7, and S. Irenseus, i. c. 20.
1 Cp. S. Irenseus, i. 16—17, ed. Grabe, iii. 12, iV, 57, and Tertullian c.
Valentin, c. 33.
Practical Inferences. 3 1
Accommodation was applied to the interpretation of the
words of Christ and His Apostles by false Teachers in the
third century : 2 and the notion of some, that the Evangelists
are at variance with each other in their records of Christ's
history, has been frequently examined and refuted by writers
of early times.3
Here, then, is comfort to ourselves. The errors by which
we are assailed are not new; they were refuted in former
ages; and the Truth having been attacked, and having
stood the test, was made more manifest thereby.
Here is the trial of our faith. If we are chaff, lying
loosely on the threshing-floor of the Church,4 we shall be
swept away by winds of controversy ; but if we are good
grain, we shall stand the winnowing ; and the gusts of false
doctrine, which blow away the chaff from the floor, will
show more clearly the soundness of the wheat, which will
remain unmoved; and be gathered into the garner of the
Lord.5 There must be heresies among you, that they which
are approved may be made manifest.6
Again, if these doctrines were consistent with each other,
or had borne any good fruit, in that country especially where
they have been put forth with great learning and ability,
then we might have reason to think that they were entitled
to respect, and ought to be accepted by us.
But this is not the case. They have been put on their
trial, with every advantage derivable from skilful advocacy.
And what is the result ? They have been condemned.
Indeed, as we have seen, these theories contradict each
other, and have destroyed one another.7 The rigid
2 See S. Irenseus, iii. 5, and Dr. Lee on Inspiration, p. 337.
3 Especially by S. Augustine, De Consensu Evangelistarum Libri
Quatuor, vol. iii. pp. 1243 — 1485.
4 Matt. iii. 12.
6 Cp. Tertullian, Prsescr. Hseret. c. 3.
6 1 Cor. xi. 19.
7 As is shown by Strauss himself, ii. pp. 742 — 6. 754 — 8.
The following is the lament of a devout mind on the nothingness ot
the results of successive Philosophical Systems applied to Theology in
Germany : —
" What benefit have we in reality derived from the Reformation or
32 Miscellanies.
dogmatism of Lutheranism, and Calvinism, gave way to the
enthusiastic fervour of Pietism; Pietism fell beneath the
attacks of Rationalism; Rationalism was driven from the
field by Pantheism, and, to borrow the language of a
celebrated Church Historian of Germany, Dr. Augustus
Neander,8 Pantheism "is only another name for Atheism."
Luther ? Does anything remain to us of the results of his vigorous exer
tions beyond an empty form and a poor caricature ? Where is the living
faith which he set up in the place of an outward righteousness of works ?
And where is the spirituality of worship which, according to the mind and
will of Christ, he demanded ? One might almost imagine that our Church
got rid of the form? in order at the same time to divest herself of the
spirit. In place of the spirit were given at first creeds and confessions of
faith which were originally exacted from necessity, but afterwards were
converted into strong tables of law. With them and their artificial expo
sition came over our Church a complete Pharisaism, which threatened to
stifle the frep breath of life. Then came Pietism, partly in various sects,
which was a burden to the Church, and neither yielded her any assistance
nor obtained success for itself. After this commenced the period of Ra
tionalism, and many raised their heads, as though their redemption had
drawn nigh. For a time men dreamed of a happy simple religion, in
which they were to behold God with unveiled countenance, and no longer
in types and images. . . . But the new building not only failed to afford
the expected advantage of a better spiritual dwelling for man, but soon
began itself to totter, and fell to the ground. The great mass took only
the negative side of nationalism, the right of declaring themselves free
from every belief which rests upon authority, without being willing to
undertake also the (certainly unnatural) duty of making a religion for
themselves. The new idols stood again, like the old, as empty shadows on
the wall : and the people as before went after their material gods. Re
ligiousness perceptibly vanished ; the Churches became empty, the Prayers
and Hymns became insipid, the Sermons trivial ; the vigorous doctrine
of the Reformers gave place to a string of timid probabilities. . . .
Verily religion was given us by God, and there came at one time believing
want of reason, at another unbelieving reason, and they have touched and
retouched the painting until its true form has altogether disappeared,
and it must be created anew by the Spirit of God.'1 Bernet, J. J., Das
neue Heil, St. Gallen, 1829, quoted by Dewar, p. 205.
8 Neander 's Antignostikus, Preface to the Second Edition, vol. ii. p.
196. " In place of that so-called vulgar Rationalism, in which there
was still an honourable remnant of a recognition of the supermundane
and divine — some sense of the religious and the moral — from a conse
quential carrying out of the same principles, there has proceeded what
would designate itself as more sublime, but which is, in fact, a far more
vulgar thing — the Gospel of the Apotheosis of Humanity, which is only
another name for Atheism ; and of which, after several decenniums have
Resemblance of Errors old and new. 33
Such have been the fruits of the long labours of three
centuries. They who have wearied themselves in such
profitless speculations may well say, We have toiled all the
night, and have taken nothing. Would that they would
now ad'd, Lord, at Thy word we will let down the net.9
In looking back from our own age to the Apostolic times,
we recognize a remarkable resemblance between the
Ancient Heresies and these Philosophical and Theological
systems, which have now been examined. All the ancient
Heresies contained a certain element of truth : but they all
excluded some other truth, which was necessary to complete
that element of truth which they contained : and so they
gave rise to the error opposite to that truth. Sabellianism
rightly asserted the doctrine of the Divine Unity, but it
excluded the doctrine of the Plurality of Persons; and so
gave occasion to Arianism and Tritheism, which asserted
the Plurality of Persons, but excluded the Unity of
Substance.
The Nestorians argued, that because there are two
Natures in Christ, there are also two Persons ; and so gave
rise to the opposite error of the Eutychians, who asserted
that there is but one Nature, because there is only one
Person.
The Christian Church preserves and harmonizes the
opposite — but not contrary — elements of Truth which are
contained in these Heresies. She joins the Unity of
Substance with a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead : She
joins the Unity of Person with the tw'b Natures in Christ.
In like manner, these theological systems of Biblical
Interpretation contained a certain element of truth, but
every one of them excluded some other truth, and so the
truth itself which they contained became an occasion of
error. The Lutheran and Calvinistic Dogmatists rightly
been spent in constructing its theory, the mischievous effects might easily
be foreseen ; and at last, entering more into actual life, it has, to the
shame and injury of our Nation, been continually making fresh mani
festations of its destructive and pernicious effects, which threaten to
annihilate all the higher goods of humanity." Cp. Schwartz, pp. 27 — 29.
9 Luke v. 5.
VOL. II. D
34 Miscellanies.
asserted the need of Creeds and Confessions of Faith, but
the basis on which they rested them was too narrow and
exclusive, and they relied too much on outward forms, to
the neglect of the inner life which should animate those
forms, and thus gave occasion to the rise of the Pietists*
who rightly asserted the need of spiritual vitality, but
would have the inner life without the outward forms which
should regulate it ; and by their ill-ordered zeal and private
interpretations of Holy Scripture, they gave occasion to
Rationalism, which was a natural reaction against Fanaticism,
Rationalism rightly asserted the use of Reason, but it
disparaged those spiritual graces which are requisite for its
guidance, illumination, and control, in matters of Religion :
and so by natural transition it gave rise to an opposite
error.
The Pantheist rightly affirms that we are made partakers
of the divine nature * by the Incarnation of Christ, and that
in God we live, and move, and have our being,2 but he
excludes the correlative truth, that the Lord He is God, it
is He that hath made us and not we ourselves ; we are His
people and the sheep of His pasture.3 Thus he gives
occasion to Atheism. If everything were God, there would
be no God.
The Church of Christ combines the various elements of
truth that are contained in these discordant systems. She
confutes all error by teaching all truth.4
In this historical review, we have seen the disastrous
results of erroneous principles of Interpretation applied to
the Holy Scriptures. Let us next proceed to examine, what
are the right means to be used for ascertaining the sense of
the Bible. And let us pray for grace and illumination from
God, from Whom alone are the preparations of the heart,
and Who creates the fruit of the lips, and Who promised
to be with the mouth of His servant Moses, and touched the
lips of Isaiah with sacred fire, and sanctified Jeremiah and
John the Baptist from their mothers' womb; and gave
1 2 Pet. i. 4. 2 Acts xvii. 28. 3 Ps. c. 2.
4 Compare Hooker, V. Hi. 4. and Pascal, Pensees, Second Partie, Art.
xvii. sect. xiii.
Right Uses of Conscience and Reason. 35
visions by an Angel to Daniel the man greatly beloved, and
to the beloved disciple, St. John ; and poured down tongues
of fire on the heads of His holy Apostles, and enabled
St. Stephen to see heaven opened, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God, and has promised wisdom (by St. James)
to those who ask it from Him. Let us pray humbly that He,
would give us an eye to see and a heart to understand, and
grace to perform His Word, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
PART II.
WHAT are the proper means for interpreting the Bible
aright ?
First, let it not be imagined, that in anything that has
been said, there has been any intention to disparage Human
Conscience or Human Reason. Conscience is given us by
God ; it is His Voice within us. But Conscience cannot
afford any guidance as to those supernatural truths and
heavenly doctrines which the Bible reveals. Conscience is,
indeed, a Guide of Practice, but it is not a Rule of Faith.
In our conduct we are bound to obey our Consciences.1
But, unless we take care, they may lead us astray.2 It is a
right Conscience alone which is a safe Guide ; and in order
that it may be a safe Guide, and lead us aright, it must
itself be informed and regulated by God's Holy Will and
Word.8 Let not therefore, Conscience presume to judge
the Bible ; it will itself be judged by the Bible.4
Again, let it not be supposed that we would derogate
from the claims of Human Reason. No ; Reason is God's
gift.5 Like every good gift, it comes from the Father of
1 James iv. 17. Rom. xiv. 23.
2 Prov. xiv. 12 : xvi. 2. John xvi. 2. Acts xxvi. 9. Cp. 1 Tim. i.
13.
3 See Bp. Sanderson's Lectures on Conscience. Lect. 5. and Lect.
iv.
4 It is therefore a strange statement in Essays and Reviews, p. 45,
lliat " Conscience is the Supreme Interpreter of the Bible."
•' " Res Dei, Ratio." Tertullian de Pffinit. § 1.
D 2
36 Miscellanies.
Lights,6 and it comes to us through the Only -begotten Son
of God, in Whom are stored up all the treasures of Wisdom
and knowledge," and Who is the true Light which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world.8 Christ is the
Eternal Logos, the Everlasting REASON, the Very Wisdom
of God,9 revealing Himself to Man in all intellectual gifts.
And we should be depreciating the attributes, and limiting
the operations of Christ, if we did not magnify Reason,
rightly so called.
Our Blessed Lord Himself, in His earthly ministry, made
use of Reason in matters of Religion, and commanded us
to use it. In conversing with the Sadducees, He rebuked
them for not knowing the Scriptures, because they did not
use their reason in order to deduce the Doctrine of the
Resurrection from the Name by which God had revealed
Himself to Moses, " the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 1
Christ also condemned the Pharisees, because they did not
use their reason in order to infer the unlawfulness of
Divorce from the fact recorded in the Book of Genesis that
at the beginning God made one woman for one man ; and
from the declaration of Scripture, that they shall be one
flesh.2 In like manner He said, Yea, and why even of your
selves judge ye not what is right?3 And His Apostles also
exhort us to use our Reason in matters of Religion. Prove
all things, hold fast that which is good.4 I speak as to wise
men, judge ye what I say.* Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.6 Be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in you.7
If we do not use our reason in religion, we shall be con
demned at the great Day of reckoning, as unprofitable
servants, who went and digged in the earth, and hid their
6 James i. 17. 7 Col. ii. 3.
s John i. 9. 91 Cor. i. 21
1 Matt. xxii. 29. Mark xii. 24—26.
- Matt. xix. 4—6. Cp. Gen. ii. 21—2-1. 3 Luke xii. 57.
1 1 Thess. v, 21 * 1 Cor. x. 15.
6 1 John iv. 1. 7 i pet. jij. 15.
Reason is to be used reasonably. 37
Lord's money.8 Our Reason is, in truth, God's money ; it
is His Coin, stamped with His image ; and to be improved
in His service, especially in the study of His Word. And
whatever can be shown by sound Reason to be contained in
that Word, is an integral part of the Bible, and if we reject
anything that can be proved to be the true sense of the
Bible, we do in fact mutilate the Bible, and expose ourselves
to the condemnation pronounced against those who take
away from the Word of God.9
In opposition, therefore, to the visionary dreams of
fanatical enthusiasts, who decry the use of Reason in Reli
gion, let it be laid down as a primary principle, that Reason,
as well as the Bible, is a precious gift of God ; and that
Reason is to be employed in the Interpretation of Holy
Writ.
But here we must proceed to observe, that Reason is to
be used reasonably. It must not be applied to purposes
for which it was not intended by the Divine Giver Himself.
God has given us Reason. He also gives us Faith. Each
of these gifts has its proper office in Religion, and must, be
employed in its proper place, — and in that only.
We have already noticed the unhappy effects of the
neglect of this principle. The Pietists of Germany magni
fied Faith, but disparaged the use of Reason in Religion.
The Rationalists, who followed and superseded them, em
ployed Reason to the subversion of Faith.1
Here is a warning for ourselves. Let us be on our guard
against both these errors; lest we fall into Superstition on
the one side, or run into Scepticism on the other. Let not
an enthusiastic Fanaticism, in the name of Faith, supersede
Reason ; and let not a false Philosophy, in the name of
Reason, supplant Faith.
Nothing can be accepted by reasonable men, which does
not rest on the foundation of Reason. Let us, therefore,
esteem Reason highly ; and because we prize it greatly, let
us take care to use it rightly ; lest perchance, by the abuse
8 Matt. xxv. 18. 26.
9 Deut. iv. 2 ; vii. 32. Rev. xxii. 19.
1 See above, pp. 8 — 10.
38 Miscellanies.
of Reason, we forfeit the inestimable blessings which may
be derived from its right use.
Let us apply these principles.
First, our Reason is to be used in proving that Holy
Scripture is the Word of God. Reason also shows, that,
in a Revelation from such a Being as God to such a creature
as man, it is very reasonable to expect that there will be
mysterious Doctrines and supernatural Truths (such, for
example, as the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, and the
Mystery of the Incarnation), which cannot be fully compre
hended by human Reason. Mysteries are above our Reason,
but it is very reasonable to believe them, because we have
all the proofs necessary to convince reasonable men that
Almighty God has revealed them in Scripture as truths neces
sary to be believed for our salvation, which, as reasonable
men, we all greatly desire. .We find also that it is affirmed
in Holy Scripture, that there is such a grace as Faith ; and
that great rewards are assured in Scripture to Faith ; and
that in this world we are in a state of trial ; and that our
Faith, as well as our Obedience, is a subject of trial ; and
that it is the special province, privilege, and prerogative of
Faith, to embrace and hold fast those supernatural Doctrines,
which are revealed in Scripture, or can be deduced by logi
cal inference from it, but which could never have been
discovered by Reason, nor can be comprehended by it.
Thus Reason leads us to the door of fche Sanctuary. But
let it not cross the threshold ; let it not attempt to draw
aside the veil of the Holy of Holies; let it not intrude
within the sacred precincts ; let it stop there, and deliver
us up to the guidance of Faith. Faith will take us by the
hand, and enable us to see the Mysteries of the Most Holy
Place, and will speak to us of that blessed time, when we
who now walk by its light, shall pass into the true Holy of
Holies in heavenly places, and shall see face to face, and
know even as we are known.2
Reason will also be careful to enlist in its services all
requisite aids for the Interpretation of Holy Scripture. It
will indeed remember that God has no need of our know-
- 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
How Reason should deal with Scripture. 39
ledge, but it will also remind us that God has no need
of our ignorance or of our folly, especially in holy things ;
and though He does not require any of our talents for His
own benefit,8 yet He does require us to use all our talents
for our own everlasting good, and will require of us a strict
account hereafter, how we have used them, at the Great
Day.
Reason will also persuade us, that all Truth is consistent
with itself. It will convince us that the World is from God,
and that the Bible is from God. The Bible itself, which is
God's Word, acknowledges the World to be His Work.4
Eeason proves, that Nature and Scripture are like two
Books written by the same Divine Hand, and illustrate
one another, and are in perfect harmony with each other.
But Right Reason will also remind us that these two
Books were written by God with two different designs ; the
Book of Nature, to declare His power ; the Book of Scrip
ture to teach us His Will, to show us His love, and to
reveal hidden Mysteries, for our everlasting salvation,5 in
Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in reading the Bible, we shall not look for
what it does not profess to teach. This would not be to
honour Scripture, but to expose it to contempt.6 Let us
not apply physical Science to supernatural Articles of Doc
trine, which the Bible reveals to Faith. Nor let us set
Articles of Faith in opposition to natural truths, which the
Visible Universe unfolds to Science. " To seek for
Theology in Philosophy is to seek for the living among the
dead " (as Lord Bacon has said) ; ( ' and to seek for Philo
sophy in Theology is to seek for the dead among the
living." r Let us not imitate the Romish Inquisition, and
cling to the Ptolemaic System of the Universe, and reject
the Copernican, and persecute Galileo, because Joshua,
speaking in a language to be understood of men, said,
3 Ps. xvi. 2.
4 Ps. xix. 1. Acts xiv. 17. Rom. i. 19, 20.
3 John xx. 31. Rom. xv. 4. 2 Tim. iii. 15.
6 Cp. Hooker, II. viii. 7.
r Lord Bacon, DC Augmeiitis Scientiarum.
40 Miscellanies,
" Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ;"8 but let us, as reason
able men, believe with Galileo the testimony of God reveal
ing to us that miracle in Scripture.9 And let us also
believe God, showing us by His works in the Book of Nature
how His Words in the Book of Scripture are to be under
stood. And if these two Books, of Nature and of Scripture,
should seem to us in any respect to be at variance as to
natural things (for, in supernatural things, the Bible alone
is to be our guide) , let us wait patiently, and not rashly
pronounce. O tarry thou the Lord's leisure,1 and see there
the trial of thy Faith ; and rest assured, that if thou walkest
according to the light thou hast, God in His own time will
reveal even this unto thee.2
Again ; Right Reason will also consider, that the Books of
the Old and New Testament were written many centuries
ago, in different countries of the world, and are composed
in two ancient Languages, Hebrew and Greek, which have
now ceased to be spoken ; and that a knowledge of those
Languages, and an acquaintance with the History, Geo
graphy, Manners, and Productions of the countries in which
those Books were written, are necessary for their right
Interpretation.
It will, therefore, gladly avail itself of all the aids which
are afforded by ancient Versions and Expositions of the
Bible. It will use all the resources of Literature and
Science for its illustration.
Since also the Bible existed for centuries in Manuscript
Copies only, it will be desirous to ascertain what is the
testimony of the most ancient Manuscripts of the Bible,
and of the greatest number of them. And if, through lack
of leisure, or for other reasons, we are not able to make
such researches as these for ourselves, we shall thankfully
use the assistance of others whose duty it is to devote them
selves to such investigations, and to communicate their
results to the world.
8 Josh. x. 12. May I refer to the note in my Commentary there ?
v See Galileo's Letter, A.D. 1633, quoted by Tiraboschi, Letteratura
Italiana, torn. viii. p. 175; ed. Firenze, 1812.
1 Ps. xxvii. 16. 2 Phil. iii. 15.
Uses of Human Learning and Science. 4 1
In following such a course as this, we shall have the
satisfaction of knowing that we have been acting reasonably,
and conformably to the will of God, the Giver of Reason,
and to the mind of the Holy Ghost, revealed to us in Holy
Scripture. We find it noted there, that Moses was learned
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians;3 and that the Prophets
were trained in schools;4 and that Daniel studied the Books
of Jeremiah.5
True it is, that God made choice of unlearned men — for
the most part — to be the first Preachers of the Gospel.
This He did for a wise purpose, in order that the excellency
of the power of the Gospel might be seen to be of God, and
not of men.6 But He made up for their defect of Learning
3 Acts vii. 22.
4 See the Expositions on 1 Sam. x. 10 ; xix. 18. 2 Kings ii. 8. 5 ;
iv. 38.
5 Dan. ix. 2. Cp. Hooker, Book III. viii. 9 : " There is in the world
no kind of knowledge whereby any part of truth is seen, but we justly
account it precious, yea, that principal truth, in comparison whereof all
other knowledge is vile, may receive from it some kind of light; whether
it be that Egyptian and Chaldean wisdom mathematical, wherewith
Moses and Daniel were furnished (Acts vii. 22. Dan. i. 17), or that
natural, moral, and civil wisdom wherein Solomon excelled all men (1
Kings iv. 29, 30) ; or that rational and oratorical wisdom of the Gre
cians, which the Apostle St. Paul brought from Tarsus ; or that Judaical
which he learned in Jerusalem, sitting at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts xxii.
3) ; to detract from the dignity whereof were to injure even God Him
self, Who, being that light which none can approach unto, hath sent out
these lights whereof we are capable, even as so many sparkles resembling
the bright fountain from which they rise."
6 2 Cor. iv. 7. Cp. Lord Bacon's Advancement of Learning, book i . :
" In the election of those instruments which it pleased God to use for
the plantation of the faith, notwithstanding that at the first He did
employ persons altogether unlearned, otherwise than by inspiration, more
evidently to declare His immediate working, and to abase all human wisdom
or knowledge ; yet, nevertheless, that counsel of His was no sooner per
formed, but in the next vicissitude and succession He did send His divine
truth into the world, waited on with other learnings as with servants or
handmaids ; for so we see St. Paul, who was the only learned amongst the
Apostles, had his pen most used in the Scriptures of the New Testa
ment.
" So again we find that many of the ancient Bishops and Fathers of the
Church were excellently read, and studied in all the learning of the heathen ;
insomuch that the edict of the Emperor Juljanus, whereby it was inter-
4 2 Miscellanies.
by extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost. And St. Paul,
who had super-abundant measures of divine grace/ did not
forego the use of human Learning : he quotes the Poets of
Greece,8 he sent for his books and his parchments,9 and
charged his son Timothy, the Bishop of Ephesus, who had
many supernatural gifts,1 to regard those gifts as stimulants
and incentives to study. Stir up the gift of God that is in
thee;2 till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhor
tation, to doctrine; neglect not the gift that is in thee;
meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to
them.3
On the other hand, if we imagine that God will give us
divine illumination, while we neglect the ordinary means of
human knowledge, we tempt Him to take away His grace,
and to give us up to the worst kind of spiritual blindness,
that of spiritual pride, which boasts that it can guide others,
while it is unable to see.
But here a caution is necessary. Human Labour and
Learning are requisite for the right interpretation of Holy
Scripture ; but they are not adequate for that purpose. To
despise Learning is Fanaticism ; but to rely on it as sufficient,
is Presumption.
We have warnings against this error in the circum
stances of our own times, and in the History of Biblical
Interpretation in Germany.
Richly endowed with intellectual gifts ; distinguished by
profound erudition, critical sagacity, and unwearied research,
Germany stands pre-eminent among the nations of the
world.
dieted unto Christians to be admitted into schools, lectures, or exercises of
learning, was esteemed and accounted a more pernicious engine and
machination against the Christian faith than were all the sanguinary per
secutions of his predecessors."
? 1 Cor. xiv. 18. 2 Cor. xii. 1, 7.
8 Acts xvii. 28. 1 Cor. xv. 33. Tit. i. 12.
9 2 Tim. iv. 13. > 1 Tim. iv. 14.
- 2 Tim. i. 6.
3 1 Tim. iv. 13 — 15. On the uses of Human Learning to Religion, see
S. Jerome's Epistle to Patilinus, Ep. 50, torn. iv. p. 269, and Bp. Bull's
Sermon on 2 Tim. iv. 13 : Works, vol. i. Sermon x.
Cause of Scientific and Learned Unbelief. 43
But among the most learned men of that learned
nation, some have not hesitated to assail the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity.
We have already lamented the ravages made by them in
the Interpretation of Holy Scripture. We have deplored
the fact, that many among them have exercised their
learning and ability in explaining away the Miracles of
Holy Scripture, by which God spoke from heaven, as with
a voice of thunder, to arouse men from their slumber, in
order that they might attend to new Revelations from Him.
We have mourned over the madness of those who have
endeavoured to reduce these wonderful interpositions of
God to ordinary phenomena of nature; or have laboured
with unwearied toil to demolish the evidence of Prophecy ;
or have attempted to dissolve the historical facts of Holy
Scripture into legendary fictions and allegorical fables. We
have contemplated a league of Science with Scepticism, and
of Reason rebelling against Revelation. We have seen our
spiritual Enemy making a formidable levy of man's intel
lectual powers, and leading them forth in a hostile campaign
against the Word of God.
This unhappy spectacle may at first have staggered and
alarmed us. Who among ourselves, — it may be asked, —
will be disposed to think himself wiser than learned men, in
a learned age, and in a very learned Nation ? Can such
men as those be in error ? Can they be wrong, and we be
right? Can they be mistaken, — grievously, grossly mis
taken, — in matters of such grave importance, to which they
have devoted great talents, great learning, and unremitting
attention ? Are we prepared to affirm that English Peasants
in Village Churches, and poor Children in Charity Schools,
who hear or read the Holy Scriptures, and believe that Jesus
Christ did many Miracles, and that the Twenty-second
Psalm and the Fifty-third chapter of Isaiah contain Pro
phecies of His sufferings, have a clearer view of the meaning
of the Bible than many of these German Expositors whose
names are famous for profound learning and critical sagacity,
and who deny the reality of those Miracles, and reject such
an interpretation of those Prophecies ?
44 Miscellanies.
Here, indeed, is a hard question. What is the answer
to it?
First, let us not be charged with self-confidence or self-
complacency, if we reject the guidance of such Interpreters
as those. "Whom among them shall we follow ? To whom
shall we turn ? to whom shall we listen ? If they were
agreed among themselves, we might perhaps suppose them
to be safe guides. But they are like the builders of Babel,
distracted by a strife of tongues, and uttering a harsh jargon
of discordant sounds.
On one side, Rationalism comes forth with a vast array of
learning, and endeavours to explain away whatever is
supernatural in Holy Scripture. But soon another phalanx
of hostile forces appears; and disputes the possession of the
field. Pantheism musters its legions, and marches on in
bold defiance, with glorious names and words emblazoned
on its banners; and, like the northern Conquerors of old
who swept down in a storm upon Europe, it threatens to
destroy all that is Rational, and to demolish all History, and
to leave us in a waste, desolate Wilderness, in a land of
darkness and despair.
We have also seen that the speculations of these Inter
preters are not original and new, but have been examined
and refuted in former days. Therefore on this ground also
they have no claim to our acceptance.
Besides, these Biblical Critics have laboured for many
centuries ; but have they produced any good fruit ? They
have uprooted many goodly forests, they have made strange
havoc with Cedars of Lebanon and Oaks of Basan, but they
have planted no vines or fig-trees under which Posterity
may dwell safely.4 Some most eminent among them openly
declare that they despise the Church of the past, nor do
they profess to have a Church in the present, but now in the
nineteenth century after Christ they promise us a " Church
of the Future ! " What a striking confession of emptiness
and abortion ! Yerily they may take up the Prophet's
words and say, We have been with child, we have been in
4 1 Kin«rs iv. "25.
Causes of Unbelief. 45
pain, we have, as it were, brought forth wind, we have not
wrought any deliverance in the earth.5
Yet further : Holy Scripture itself explains the Enigma,
and supplies an answer to the question before us. It warns
us not to be surprised and perplexed, if some who are
celebrated for shrewdness and learning should err greatly
from the truth. The Apostle testifies, that knowledge
puffeth up.6 Knowledge is often a snare ; it engenders
spiritual pride ; and spiritual pride is always punished with
spiritual blindness. No man can understand the Bible,
except God open his eyes. Open Thou mine eyes, 0 Lord,
says the Psalmist, that I may see the wondrous things of
Thy Law;7 and St. Paul teaches that the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned.3 We cannot understand the Bible,
except by the light of the Holy Ghost who wrote the Bible :
and if we do not read the Bible in a humble and teachable
spirit, but in a carping, cavilling temper, we provoke the
Holy Ghost to withdraw His light from us and to leave us
in our own darkness.
Vain it is, and worse than vain, to apply Learning to the
study of Scripture, unless we have those moral dispositions,
and spiritual graces, without which our eyes are veiled, and
Scripture is a sealed book. Yain, and worse than vain, it
is for men to be profound Linguists, and careful Collators of
Manuscripts, and to be well versed in History, Chronology,
Geology, and Chemistry, aud in all the departments of
Literature and Science, unless their minds are illumined by
the light of the IJoly Ghost. Vain it is, and worse than
vain, to pore over the pages of Scripture, and to analyze
every jot and tittle of it in all the ancient Versions, and in
all the Expositions of it that were ever made, unless God
writes the words of His Law, with His divine finger, on the
fleshy tables of our hearts.9 Vain, and worse than vain, is
all that toil and trouble ; and all those means and instru-
5 Isa. xxvi. 18. 6 1 Cor. viii. 1.
" T.s. cxix. 18. 8 1 Cor. ii. 14.
9 2 Cor. iii. 3.
46 Miscellanies.
ments are but sounding brass ' and a tinkling cymbal,
unless the soul and spirit are sanctified by the fear of God,
and warmed with the love of God ; and the inner eye is
enlightened with the rays of God's countenance.2 He who
would understand the Bible must love the Bible.3 He must
revere the Bible. He must not treat it "as a common
book." He must regard it with holy awe. He must listen
to it as God's oracle, speaking from the Holy of Holies.
He must pray over it ; he must read it on his knees.
There is a Scala Santa at Rome,4 on which Christ is said
to have passed to His Passion, and which Pilgrims ascend
on their knees; a fabulous legend and superstitious practice:
but it may remind us of something better. The Bible is
indeed a Scala Santa, it is a holy ladder, and Christ passes
thereby and leads us up to heaven : as our devout Poet
George Herbert says 5 to the Bible, —
" Heaven lies flat in thee,
Subject to every mounter's bended knee."
We must prepare ourselves for the study of the Bible by
holiness of life. The secret of the Lord is with them that
fear Him.6 He that willeth 7 to do God's will shall know of
the doctrine.8 We must come to it with the meek and
docile spirit of little children. God revealeth His secrets
unto Babes — that is, to those who are like children in
simplicity — but He hideth them from the wise and prudent.9
Mysteries are revealed unto the meek.1 Them that are meek
1 1 Cor. xiii. 1.
2 " Holy Scripture is not a science of the intellect, but of the heart.
It can only be understood by those who have an honest and good heart.
There is a veil upon the hearts of many Christians, no less than upon the
hearts of Jews in reading the Bible" (2 Cor. iii. 14, 15). — Pascal, Pensees,
ii. xvii. cvi.
3 Compare S. Augustin, de Utilitate Credendi, cap. 6.
4 Near the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and said to have been brought
from Pilate's house to Rome. See Nibby, Itinerario 'di Koma, i. p.
189.
5 The Temple. " The Holy Scriptures." Part i.
c Ps. xxv. 13. " iav TIS d(\r,.
8 John vii. 17. 9 Matt xi. 25.
1 Exod. iii. 19.
Right inferences from Existence of Unbelief. 47
shall He guide in judgment, and such as are gentle, them
shall He learn His way.2
What therefore shall we now say ? Can those Expositors
of the Bible be said to possess these moral requisites, who
treat Scripture with irreverence ? Can they be said to
possess the fit dispositions and tempers, the proper habits
and qualifications, for its right understanding and true in
terpretation ? They who charge Christ with dissimulation !
They who accuse Him of deception in applying prophecies
to Himself which had no reference to Him ! They who
assert that the holy Evangelists and Apostles have com
mitted many errors in writing, and so do dishonour to the
Holy Ghost who was sent by Christ to teach them all things,
and guide them into all truth ! 3 They who care little for the
consent and practice of the universal Church, and set up
their own private interpretations of Holy Writ against the
authority . of all Apostolic Churches for a thousand years
after Christ ! No : surely. The G-iants of old might as well
have expected to scale heaven, while they piled up mountains
on mountains to storm it, as such Expositors to gain
admittance into the true meaning of the Bible. And, alas !
such are the characteristics that disfigure the expositions of
Holy Scripture, to which we are now referring.
Therefore the result which we now see is not strange. No,
far from it. The Bible would not be true, unless such
causes had led to such consequences. For, the results are
precisely such as the Bible itself has led us to expect. The
Bible itself has forwarned us that unbelief would abound,
especially in the latter days. Therefore the existence of
unbelief proves the truth of the Bible and confirms our
belief in it. Scripture is set for our comfort, and trial.
It has clear places to cheer us, and dark places to prove
us. The door of Scripture is sometimes closed, not that
we may be shut out, but in order that we may knock ;
and that we may rejoice the more, when we are let
in. And if we knock with humility, God, Who sees the
feelings with which we knock, will open the door to us.
But if we kick against it with proud irreverence, it will
2 Ps. xxv. 8. 3 John xiv. 26 ; xvi. 13.
4$ Miscellanies.
never be opened to us, however wise we may be in our own
conceits.4 " When I was young/' says S. Augustine5 in
one of his Sermons, " I came to the study of the Bible with
shrewdness of disputing and not with meekness of inquiring ;
and thus by my own perverseness I fastened the door of
Scripture against myself. And why ? because I sought
with pride for what can only be found by humility."
Nor is this all ; if we seek amiss, we shall not only not
gain admittance, but we shall be punished for our pride.
Holy Scripture, let us remember, is not a dumb, lifeless,
helpless thing. It has a living energy : it breathes and it
burns. It has exceeding tenderness, and infinite blessings
for all who love and revere it. But it has also a punitive
power, and it puts forth retributive wrath and indignation
against all who dare to despise it, or venture to treat it with
familiarity. The two testaments are like the two Witnesses
in the Apocalypse, of whom we read that if any man will
hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth
their enemies.6 The Written Word is like the Incarnate
Word, Who was a Corner Stone, elect, precious, to some,
and a stumbling-stone and rock of offence to others." It
is set for the fall of some, and for the rising of others.8
Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, and on
whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder.9
Whoever perverts the right ways of the Lord by wresting
the sense of Scripture will be smitten with spiritual blind
ness, and become like another Elymas groping in dark
ness at noon-day.1
Let us, therefore, not be perplexed by what we see in our
own age. Let us not falter in the faith, because it is im-
4 Cp. S. Augustine in Ps, xciii., and in Ps. ciii.
5 In Serm. li. 6 Rev. xi. 5.
• 1 Pet. ii. 6—8. 8 Luke ii. 34.
9 Matt. xxi. 44.
1 Acts xiii. 10, 11. Job v. 14. "Everything turns to good for God's
elect," says Pascal (Pensees, ii. xiii. vi.), " even the dark places of Scrip
ture ; for they revere them on account of the clear ones which they see
there. But everything turns to evil for the reprobate, even the clear
places of Scripture ; for they revile them on account of the dark ones,
which they do not understand."
Heresies of Learned Men. 49
pugned by many who are famed for intellectual powers.
No : rather let us here recognize another proof of the truth
of Holy Writ.
The Bible exhibits to us many examples of that unhappy
phenomenon which we ourselves now behold. Listen to
the prophetic woe which it pronounces on the learning of
Babylon. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted
thee.2 Behold the learned Eabbis of Jerusalem conspiring
against Christ when received and adored by Fishermen of
Galilee. See the Stoics and Epicureans of Athens turning
a deaf ear to St. Paul. Hear St. Paul's own declaration,
that the most civilized and enlightened Nations of antiquity
professing themselves wise became fools.3 Listen to the
divine verdict, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace
unto the humble.4 Where therefore is the wise ? where is
the Scribe ? where is the disputer of this world ? Hath
not God made foolish the wisdom of this world ? s
The History, also, of the Christian Church from the days
of the Apostles to our own, confirms these statements.
The principal promoters and champions of false Doctrines
and Heresies in every age have not been illiterate men, but,
for the most part, have been persons celebrated for what
many call shrewdness and learning ; they have been eminent
in the annals of Literature and Science. Jesus Christ, Who
is the Truth, and Who has divine power, was able to employ
unlettered Galilceans in preaching and writing His Gospel.
And why ? Because that Gospel is true, and it is strong by
its truth ; and because He could compensate for their lack
of learning by supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost.
But the Devil, who is the Spirit of Error, the Father of
Lies,6 the Author of Heresy, cannot afford to do this. In
his subtlety and guile he has always made choice of men
distinguished by intellectual gifts and endowments. He
has endeavoured to enlist in his service those who may
allure others by winning charms, seductive attractions, and
fascinating blandishments of personal graces, and intellectual
2 Isa. xlvii. 10. 3 Rom. i. 22.
4 James iv. 6. 5 1 Cor. i. 20.
" John viii. 44.
VOL. II. E
5cf Miscellanies.
accomplishments. And why? In order that by their means
he may succeed better in handling the Word of God deceit
fully/ and in perverting the sense of Scripture to the
destruction of souls.
Consider some examples of this. The Arian Heresy,
which denies that Christ is God co-equal and con-substantial
with the Father, was set on foot by an Alexandrine Presby
ter, famous for ready eloquence and logical acumen. The
Nestorian Heresy, which separated the Son of God from
the Son of Man, was first propagated by a Bishop of the
Church, celebrated for erudition. The Eutychian Heresy,
which confounded the Human Nature with the Divine in
the Person of Jesus Christ, owed its origin to the venerated
head of a Monastic body. The Pelagian Heresy, which
asserted the sufficiency of the human will, independently
of divine grace, derived its name from a man of great
personal endowments, and strictness of life. The Socinian
Heresy, which rejects the doctrine of the Atonement, and
of Christ's Divinity, was promulgated and has since been
maintained, by persons of great renown for intellectual
powers and moral lives.8
All these appealed to Scripture, and differed from each
7 2 Cor. iv. 29.
8 The same remark may be applied to the most eminent Rationalists
and Pantheists of later d;iys. See the character of Kant as drawn by
Baron Bunseu, " Modern history scarcely presents us to a more blame
less and earnest moral character than that of Kant ; and no one will
deny that his deeply moral tone of thought was transmitted to his succes
sors, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel." Signs of the Times, p. 287.
The Biblical Critic who was foremost among the Rationalists of Ger
many in endeavouring to undermine the foundations of Christianity, as
far as it rested on Miracles, went to his grave in his 90th year, having
uttered these awful words on the day of his death (10th Aug., 1851), " I
stand righteous before God, having willed what is right." See Kahuis,
p. 175.
If it should be alleged, that the " deeply moral tone," and " the earnest
moral character," of such Teachers are proofs that their doctrine is sound,
beca-use our Lord says, " By their fruits ye shall know them " (Matt. vii.
15, 16), let it be remembered that the fruits of which our Lord is speak
ing are those produced by teaching : and that the fruits produced
by Rationalism and Pantheism are bitter and deadly ; and that the wolf
is no the less a wolf because he comes in sheep's clothing (Matt. vii. 15),
but is the more dangerous, and the more to be shunned, on that account.
Wisdom of Humble Simplicity. 5 1
other, and from the faith once delivered to the Saints,9 But
they subserved the cause of Truth, by the solemn warning
which they afford, that Reason and Learning are not suffi
cient to enable men to understand Scripture ; and that
persons eminent for logical shrewdness, metaphysical
subtlety, critical sagacity, aud philological research, and
celebrated in the history of Literature and Science, may be
spiritually blind ; and may be blind more hopelessly because
unconscious of their blindness ; and because they know not
either their own need of spiritual light, or the mysterious
energy of that despotic Power, which enthrals them in
spiritual darkness.
Therefore, we may boldly affirm, that many poor Peasants,
and little children in the humble Cottages of our English
villages, are far wiser in holy things, than some of the most
celebrated Philosophers and Professors in the Schools and
Colleges of Europe. The Prophet Balaam could not see
the Angel of God in the way. And why ? Because he
was blinded by his own wilfulness and disobedience. But
God enabled the ass, upon which Balaam rode, to see the
Angel; and God opened her mouth to rebuke the madness
of the Prophet.1 So it ever has been : and so it is now.
God turneth wise men backward and maketh the diviners
mad;2 and out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He
perfecteth praise, that He may still the enemy and the
avenger.3 *
Finally, let us turn our eyes from these melancholy results
of science falsely so called,4 to a more cheering view. Let
us turn our eyes from the miserable consequences of that
self-idolizing illumination, which is in fact thick darkness,
and let us look back to the brighter visions of former days.
The ancient Christian Expositors of Holy Scripture may
serve as our Teachers here. They may be our Guides.
They asserted the needs and uses of Human Reason and
Human Learning in the Interpretation of Holy Scripture.
But they knew and taught, that if Human Reason and
9 Jude 3. i Num. xxii. 28. 2 Pet. iii. 6.
- Isa. xliv. 25. 3 Ps. viii. 2. Matt xxi. 16.
4 1 Tim. vi. 20.
E 2
52 Miscellanies.
Learning are to do tlieir proper work in this holy function,
they must be animated and regulated by the Fear and Love
of God, and must be sanctified and enlightened by the Holy
Ghost.
To adopt the language of one most eminent among them,
S. Augustine ;5 " In order to understand and interpret Holy
Scripture, the first requisite is the fear of God, which
meditates on His Justice. This holy Fear will make us
think of Death, and of a Judgment to come : and it will
make us bewail our own sins, and nail our proud thoughts
to the Cross of Christ. It will constrain us to bow down
in lowly adoration before the majesty of Scripture. In
order to understand Scripture, it is necessary to love God
and Man, and to cherish that pure affection, to which the
light of God's countenance is vouchsafed, by which the
Truth is made visible in His Word. He that fears God,
diligently seeks to learn His Will in His Holy Word. Such
a man loves not strifes, but is gentle and devout. He has
skill in languages, for the exposition of Holy Scripture ;
he possesses other necessary knowledge ; and he has the
true text of Scripture, derived from correct Manuscripts.
Thus furnished and equipped he comes to the interpretation
of Scripture. And wherever he is in doubt, he consults the
Rule of Faith which is deduced from the plain places of
Scripture, and from the authority of Christ's Church.6 And
if it is his duty to expound Scripture to others, he will first
pray, and then preach; he will pray for himself, and for
those that hear him, and he will take good heed to his life
and conversation, that, if he is not eloquent in tongue, his
life may be a sermon."7
The ancient Fathers " loved to trace the resemblance be
tween us Christians and the Israelites of old, coming forth out
8 De Doctrina Christiana, ii. 9 ; iii. 1, 2. The substance of those
several passages is embodied in these paragraphs.
6 S. Augustine, ibid. iii. 1, 2.
7 Ibid. iv. 32. 61.
8 E. g. Origen, Epistola ad GregoriumThaumaturgum, torn. i. p. 31. S.
Irenseus, iv. 49, ed. Grabe ; and, more fully, S. Augustine, de Doctrina
Christiana, ii. 60, 61.
Christianization of Literature and Science. 53
of Egypt, and journeying through the wilderness to Canaan,
the type of our heavenly inheritance. The ancient Christian
Writers observed, that by the command of Almighty God,
Who is the Proprietor and Lord of all, the Israelites of old
spoiled the Egyptians.9 They borrowed of them jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. God brought. them
forth with silver and gold : there was not one feeble person
among their tribes.1 And they cheerfully offered their
jewels of gold and silver, and their costly and beautiful
raiment, and adorned therewith the Tabernacle of God ; and
made the Ark, and the Golden Altar, and Candlestick, for
His worship and service.2
Here, as the ancient Fathers observe, we may see
a figure of ourselves and of our own duty. Almighty
God has called us forth from the Egypt of this world. He
has given us the treasures of secular learning. He has be
stowed upon us the gold, and silver, and jewels of Literature
and Science. All these are His treasures ; and He has
made them ours. He puts them into our hands, and bids
us take them with us in our earthly pilgrimage to our
heavenly Canaan.
When we quit Egypt, laden with its spoils, let us eat
the Passover, which is the Type of Christ. Let us have our
door-posts sprinkled with the blood of Christ : let us feed
on Him in Faith, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity
and truth.3 Let us eat it with bitter herbs * of repentance ;
and with our staff in our hand; and let us walk in the way
of God's commandments, and follow the Pillar of the Cloud
and the Fire, by which God leads us through the wilderness
of this world. Let all who are enriched with the gold and
silver of secular Learning, remember the hand from which
those jewels come. The Gold and the Silver are Mine, saith
the Lord. All the gold and silver of Literature, Science,
and Art, are from the Mines of God's wisdom and love, and
are to be dedicated in meekness and thankfulness to Him
for the service of the Sanctuary, for the adornment of the
9 See Exod. iii. 21, 22 ; xi. 2. > Exod. xii. 35, 36. Ps. cv. 37.
2 Exod. xxxv. 22. » 1 Cor. v. 8.
4 Exod. xii. 8.
54 Miscellanies.
Altar, the Ark, and the Candlestick of His Temple, and fur
the honour and glory of His most Holy Word.
The Israelites in the wilderness " drank of that spiritual
Eock which followed them, and that Rock was Christ." '
In our studies of divine things let us follow Christ. The
Incarnate Word is the Author and Giver of the Written Word.
He also is its Interpreter. Let us proceed to consider this.
PART III.
ON the day of His Resurrection our blessed Lord joined
Himself to two of His disciples, as they walked from Jeru
salem to a village called Emmaus ; and beginning at Moses
and all the Prophets, He expounded unto them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself.1
As soon as He had disappeared from their sight, the
remembrance of that Discourse drew from them these words,
Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us
by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures ?
The Evangelist St. Luke, who records these things, does
not give any particulars of our Lord's conversation at that
time. He proceeds to relate that Christ appeared in the
same evening to the Apostles at Jerusalem ; and that He
then said to them, These are the words which I spake unto
you while I was yet with you, that all things must be ful
filled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the
Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. Then opened
He their understandings that they might understand the
the Scriptures.2 St. Luke relates this fact, but does not
supply any details of our Lord's discourse on that occasion.
Further, St. Luke states, at the beginning of the Acts
of the Apostles, that our Blessed Lord showed Himself alive
after His Passion to His Apostles, being seen of them forty
days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom
of God.3
5 1 Cor. x. 4. ' Luke xxiv. 27.
3 Luke xxiv. 4t, 4o. 3 Acts i. 3.
Christ is the Interpreter of the Bible. 55
He also describes the accomplishment of Christ's promise
to His disciples, that after His Ascension into heaven He
would send them the Holy Ghost 4 the Comforter, the Spirit
of Truth, who would teach them all things, and bring all
things to their remembrance whatsoever He had said unto
them, and who would abide with them for ever, and guide
them into all truth.5
We may perhaps have sometimes felt a desire, that we had
been with the two disciples in their walk with Christ to
Emmaus, when He talked with them by the way, and opened
to them the Scriptures. But the fact is, we ourselves may
enjoy the same privileges as those two disciples did. Indeed,
we may be more blessed than they were. And why ? Be
cause, as appears from the Scriptures just rehearsed, our
Lord opened the understanding of His Apostles, that they
might understand the Scriptures ; and because He remained
on earth for forty days after His Resurrection, and discoursed
with tljem on the things pertaining to the kingdom of God ;
and because on the day of Pentecost He endued them with
power from on high/ and gave them the Holy Ghost, to
teach them all things, and to guide them into all truth, and
to bring to their remembrance all that He had spoken to
them ; and because He has given to us the New Testament
written by their hands ; and because in the Holy Gospels of
the New Testament, and in the Epistles of His Apostles,
He is ever speaking to us, and is interpreting to us the
Scriptures of the Old Testament.
Accordingly, we find in the Acts of the Apostles, that as
soon as our Blessed Lord had sent down the Holy Ghost
from heaven, the Apostle St. Peter, being filled with the
Spirit given by Christ, began to interpret the words of
ancient Prophecy in the ears of the multitude at Jerusalem/
and declared that those things, which God before had
showed by the mouth of all His Prophets, He hath so ful
filled in Jesus- Christ. Yea, and all the Prophets, from
Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken,
4 Acts ii. 1—4, 33. Cp. Luke xxiv. 49. Acts i. 4.
4 John xiv. 16, 26 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 7, 13.
0 Luke xxiv. 49. 7 Acts ii. 16—20, 25, 34.
56 Miscellanies.
have likewise foretold of these days/ and the Apostolic tes
timony may be summed up in those few words, " To Him
give all the Prophets witness." 9
Therefore we may well say that Christ is ever walking at
our side, in our course through the New Testament. He
is ever, as it were, walking with us to Emmaus, and talking
with us by the way, and opening to us the Scriptures.
Christ is the Divine Interpreter of the Bible. The
Incarnate Word is the True Expositor of the Written Word.
No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.1
Christ is our divine Joseph, our Zaphnath-Paaneah, our Re»
vealer of secrets.2 No man knoweth the Father but the Son,
and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.3 The Spirit of
Christ, says St. Peter, spake in the Prophets,4 and the Spirit
of Christ, speaking to us in the Apostles and Evangelists,
expounds the meaning of those words which He Himself
had uttered by Moses and all the Prophets, in the Old
Testament.
This great Truth, which lies at the foundation of all right
Interpretation of the Bible, was visibly represented at the
Transfiguration of Christ. Moses, the Giver of the Law and
Writer of the Pentateuch, and Elias, the Representative of
the Prophets, were brought together to do homage to Christ,
and to show the harmony of the Old Testament with the
New ; and then the Voice from Heaven said, This is My
Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased : hear ye Him.5
" There," says an ancient Expositor,6 " was Moses and Elias,
— that is, the Law and the Prophets, — with the everlasting
WORD, Christ. — For, the Law and the Prophets cannot exist
without the Word : we ourselves daily behold Moses and
Elias with the Son of God. For we see the Law and the
Prophets in the Gospel. The image of our spiritual bless-
8 Acts iii. 18, 24, 25.
9 Acts x. 43. Cp. iv. 25, 26 ; xxir. 14 ; xxvi. 23.
1 John i. 18. 2 Gen. xli. 46.
3 Luke x. 22. 4 1 Pet. i. 10, 11.
5 Matt, xxvii. 5. Mark ix. 7. Luke ix. 35.
b S. Ambrose in Lucavn, lib. vii.
Christ the Interpreter of Scripture. 5 7
ings is in the heavens ; the shadow of them is in the Law :
but the Substance of them is in the Gospel." 7 •
Let this, therefore, be our rule.
For the right „ interpretation of the Bible let us come to
Christ. Our Reason itself is from Him ; 8 and all the gifts
of Learning are from Him. He is the true light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world.9 And He
took our nature, and dwelt in us, and became our Em
manuel, God with us : God manifest in the flesh,1 in order
to sanctify our Reason and illumine our Knowledge, with
divine beams of spiritual light, from the fountain and well-
spring of light, the Everlasting Godhead itself.
It is in Scripture, as it is in Nature. In the natural
world, it is not the human eye which is the primary cause of
sight. No : it is God's power, acting by the Sun in the
heavens. The Sun, by its luminous beams, paints pictures
on the retina of the Eye ; and these pictures are the means
by which the Eye holds converse with the world. So it is
in Holy Scripture. It is not the soul which sees by any
power of its own. But it is Christ, the Sun of Righteous
ness,2 who illumines the spiritual iris of the mind with His
divine rays, which pass, as it were, through the lens of the
intellectual eye, and penetrate the pupil, and paint beautiful
pictures on the camera obscura of the soul. And unless He
does this work, all is dark within. All is dark, unless He
quickens the spiritual organ and optic nerve of the heart,
and enables it by His grace to receive spiritual illumination.
Therefore, the Evangelist St. Luke describes a twofold
work done by Jesus Christ in explaining the Scriptures to
the two disciples in the walk to Emmaus, and to the Apostles
at Jerusalem. He opened the Scriptures, we read. Here
was one work. And He opened their understanding, to
understand the Scriptures.3 There was another work : He
' S. Ambrose in Ps. xxxviii. " See above, p. 37.
9 John i. 9. 1 Matt. i. 16. 23. 1 Tim. iii. 16.
2 Mai. iv. 2.
3 The words in the original are still more expressive : birivmytv in v. 32
and 8i{)voi£fv in v. 45. The former word in the imperfect tense (He
was opening), signifies the gradual unfolding of the Scriptures, by the
58 Miscellanies.
opened, as it were, windows in God's Holy Word, and He
let in a flood of light into what was before like a dark room.
He also opened the eyes of their understanding, which
before was clouded with a thick film, and shed the beams of
spiritual light into the inmost recesses of their minds, and
illumined them with glorious visions, and adorned the walls
of that intellectual chamber with beautiful pictures of
heavenly truth.
He did this blessed work in the walk to Emmaus, and
amid the disciples at Jerusalem. And He is always doing
it. He does it in the New Testament, by interpreting the
Prophecies and Types of the Old. " If you knock at the
door of Scripture with the hand of "Faith," says an ancient
Father, " that door will be opened by Christ." 4 He does
it by His own divine words in the Gospels ; and He does it
by the ministry of His Apostles and Evangelists, who were
taught and guided by His Spirit. He works and speaks by
them : and therefore St. Paul says, We have the mind of
Christ.5
Christ has also done this work by so adjusting the words
of Scripture itself, that one part of Scripture may shed light
on another.6 He does it by lighting up the clouds of the
dark places of Scripture by the sunbeams of the clear
ones.
He does it also by the presence and power of the Holy
Ghost, whom He sent from heaven, to abide for ever in
His mystical Body, the Church Universal, protecting Holy
Scripture against false interpretations, and declaring the
true sense of Holy Scripture in her Creeds and Confessions
of Faith.
These are the modes in which Christ works a^ our great
Prophet and Teacher, in the Interpretation of Holy Writ.
opening of various passages in succession ; the latter word in the aorist
tense (He opened), shows the opening of the mind by one divine act of
illumination. The preposition fiia is also to be noticed, as intimating the
process by which light is let through what was before shut.
4 St. Augustine, c. Donatistas, ii. 6.
5 1 Cor. ii. 16. Cp. S. Augustine, c. Pelagianos, de Gratia, c. 18 :
" Let us listen to the Apostle, for Christ speaks by him."
8 See below, Part IV.
How Christ interprets the Bible. 59
Let us now contemplate Him explaining to us ancient
Prophecy by His own words, and by the ministry of His
Apostles and Evangelists.
Some Prophecies of the Old' Testament are so clear, that
unassisted Reason could interpret them aright. The Scribes
knew that the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, the
City of David, and they announced to Herod that prophecy.7
That Christ was to come of the seed of Abraham, and house
of David, was written so plainly that he who ran might read
it. Our own reflections would suffice to convince us, that
the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth coincided in a marvellous
manner with those preannounced in the twenty-second
Psalm and in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.
But yet we have a strong assurance for ourselves, and a
powerful argument with others, when we find in the New
Testament that this correspondence is distinctly affirmed by
Christ Himself speaking by His holy Apostles and Evange
lists.8 We require no further evidence that these portions
of the Old Testament do contain prophecies, and that those
prophecies were fulfilled in Him. We need no other answer
to the sceptical allegations put forth by earlier writers and
revived in our own days.9
Again ; we might indeed have anticipated as probable,
that the Prophecies delivered by God in the Old Testament
would not be fulfilled at once, but would have successive
stages of partial accomplis ment, in preparatory and sub
ordinate events, designed to keep alive the attention of the
faithful, and raising and refreshing their minds in the toil
some march and weary pilgrimage of many generations,
climbing up in a gradual ascent till they reached the summit
of God's counsels, in Christ. We might, therefore, have
been prepared to admit, without other testimony, that the
prophecy of Isaiah to Ahaz, Behold, a Virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel,1 had
indeed a first increment of growth toward fulfilment in the
? Matt. ii. 5. Cp. John vii. 42.
8 Matt, xxvii. 35, 46. Luke xxii. 37. John xix. 24. Acts viii. 32—
35.
9 Essays and Reviews, pp. 69, 71. ' Isa. vii. 14.
60 Miscellanies.
birth of the son of the Prophet himself, but attained its full
ripeness in Jesus Christ.
But we need more than human wisdom to explain to us
the true meaning of many other Prophecies. For example,
we need a divine revelation to assure us that the Prophecy
of Jeremiah/ concerning the weeping of Eachel for her
children, put forth, as it were, only some buds and blossoms
of fulfilment in the destruction of the children of Judah by
the armies of Babylon,3 but was unfolded in the full bloom
of accomplishment in the martyrdom of the Innocents at
Bethlehem, soon after the Birth of Christ.
We could never have been able, of ourselves, to give such
an interpretation as that to the Prophecy of Jeremiah.
And we may even suppose that Jeremiah himself, when he
was inspired by the Holy Ghost to deliver that prophecy,
did not perceive its full meaning. But Christ has inter
preted the prophecy for us in this sense by His holy Apostle
and Evangelist St. Matthew, in the second chapter of his
Gospel and seventeenth verse, where he is relating the
massacre of those children by Herod. Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by, or rather through,4 Jeremy the
Prophet. Then, that is, the Prophecy, which had been
delivered by God through the ministry of the Prophet
Jeremiah, was fulfilled : that is, it had been gradually
flowing onward toward fulfilment in former ages, but it
2 Jer. xxxi. 15. " This passage of Jeremiah," says Bishop Marsh, on
Interpretation, p. 462, " is introduced by St. Matthew in the words,
' Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet.' And
if in the opinion of an inspired Apostle any passage of the Old Testament
was a prediction of that event to which he himself (the Apostle) applied
it, we must conclude that such passage really was a prediction of that
event, though we ourselves could not have discovered it.''
8 Jer. xl. 1.
4 6\a, through; this preposition is much more expressive than the
English by. It declares the important truth, that the Hebrew Prophets
were like channels, through which the prophecies were conveyed ; and
not sources, from which the prophecies sprung. This preposition, Sta
(through), is commonly used by St. Matthew in quoting prophecies from
the Old Testament, and ought to be carefully noted. See Matt. ii. 5,
15, 17, 23 ; iii. 3 ; iv. 14 ; viii. 17 ; xii. 17 ; xiii. 35 ; xxi. 4 ; xxiv. 15 ;
xxvii. 9.
Prophecies not understood by their Writers. 6 1
arrived at its springtide in Christ. It was then fulfilled,
and no other fulfilment of it is now to be expected.5
Contemplate here the glorious vision unfolded to our
view. Christ Himself has opened our eyes ; and He has
opened also the prophecy of Jeremiah to us ; He has shed
new light upon it, and upon us. Now, therefore, when
we read that prophecy, we learn to regard the words of
comfort spoken to 'the mothers of Judah, as words of com
fort spoken to ourselves, and to the whole Christian Church.
Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and
thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith
the Lord, and they, that is, thy children, shall come again
from the land of the enemy, and there is hope in thine end,
saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their
own border.6
Henceforth we read the History of the return of the Jews
from the captivity of Babylon with new interest. It becomes
our own History. We see there a picture of ourselves. We
see the pledge of our own Redemption and Return in Christ
from the bondage of sin and death. We see there a type
of our own first Resurrection, that is, of our own spiritual
birth, to newness of life in Christ, We see a pledge also
of our own second Resurrection, and that of our children,
from the prison-house of the grave to a glorious Immortality
in Him.
Now, therefore, we are enabled to recognize the divine
wisdom and heavenly beauty of that Prophecy, which blends
these gracious promises of olden time with the announce
ment of the Incarnation and Birth of the Son of God, from
which all these blessings flow. The Lord (says the same
Prophet in the same chapter) hath created a new thing upon
the earth, a woman shall compass a man.7 And from this
5 This is the true meaning of the important formulas Iva irfypcod!), rare
eTrXrjpndr], " that it might be fulfilled ;" "then was fulfilled." They
declare that the Prophecy, which is quoted with this introductory phrase,
may have been tending towards fulfilment in previous events, but that it
attained its full, final, and complete aecomplishraeat in (that event which
is coupled with it, and that no other subsequent fulfilment is to he looked
for.
6 Jer. xxxi. 16. " Jer. xxxl. 22.
62 Miscellanies.
Man, made of a woman* yea, verily from the Woman's seed*
and from this wondrous childbearing,1 all good comes to
Man in Time and in Eternity.
Let us consider another Prophecy of the Old Testament,
quoted by St. Matthew in the same chapter, the second
chapter and fifteenth verse. There the Evangelist is de
scribing the Flight into Egypt. When Joseph arose, he
took the young child and His mother by night, and departed
into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken* of the Lord by the
Prophet, Out of Egypt have I called my Son.3
Here therefore a new light is shed upon the prophecy of
of Hosea, and on the history of Israel in Egypt. We are
taught that Israel was in many respects a type of Christ.
The very name Israel, a Prince of God4 suggests this. In
Israel, when a child, beloved of God, and called out of Egypt,
we now learn to see a figure of Christ Himself. The beloved
Son of God, the Infant Jesus, was to be in Egypt till the
Angel should bring Joseph word; for Herod would seek
the young child to destroy Him. He was there till the
death of Herod. The death of the Persecutor was the
signal for His deliverance and return. All this had been
prefigured by the literal Israel who had gone down from
Canaan into Egypt. The Enemy of God worked by Pharaoh
against Israel, as he did afterwards by Herod against Christ.
God loved and protected Israel in his childhood. In the
infancy of the Nation, He shielded the young children from
the rage of the King. He saved Israel in Egypt, and He
saved Israel from Egypt, and sent him forth to be a Witness
and Preacher of His Truth to the World. All this was done
for the sake of Christ, the Well-beloved Son of the Father,
the Light of the World. God loved Christ in Israel, from
whom Christ came according to the flesh. The first-born of
Egypt were destroyed, and Pharaoh and his hosts were
8 Gal. iv. 4. 9 Gen. iii. 15.
1 1 Tim. ii. 15.
2 Rather, "by the Lord, through the Prophet" (Hcsea si. 1). See
above, p. 60.
3 Matt, ii. 15. 4 Gen. xxxii. 28.
New light shed on Prophecies. 63
overthrown in the sea, and then Israel was delivered, and
went forth toward Canaan. So, the destruction of Christ's
Enemies was the signal of His Exodus from Egypt, and .of
His return to Canaan. " When Herod was dead, behold, an
Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
saying, Arise, take the young child and His mother, and go
into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the
Young Child's life. And he arose, and took the Young
Child and His mother, and came into the Land of Israel."
Therefore, also, since the Enemies of the literal Israel are
figures of the enemies of Christ, even of Death and the
Grave, there is a peculiar propriety in the union of Hosea's
prophecy concerning the call of Israel out of Egypt, with
another prophecy uttered by the same Prophet concerning
the deliverance of the Spiritual Israel, the Israel of God,
united in the whole mystical Body of Christ, and redeemed
and ransomed by Him from their ghostly enemies, and
concerning their glorious Exodus from the Egypt of Death,
and the Grave, and their leading-forth from a laud of
bondage to the glorious inheritance of their heavenly Canaan
in Christ. I will ransom them (says Christ Himself by
Hosea) from the power of the Grave, I will redeem them
from Death. 0 Death, I will be thy plagues. O Grave, I
will be thy destruction.5 And we may now take up the
comment of the Holy Apostle St. Paul, 0 Death, where is
thy sting ? O Grave where is thy victory ? Thanks be to
God Who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.6
Shall we, with some in our own age/ reject such inter
pretations as these ? Shall we be thus unthankful to Christ
whose Spirit as St. Peter says (1 Peter i. 11) spake in the
Prophets, and Who sent the Holy Ghost to inspire the
Apostles and Evangelists. Shall we murmur at our
adorable Redeemer, because in His tender love and mercy
to us, He has given to us a clearer insight into a prophecy
uttered by Hosea, than even Hosea himself had, when he
5 Hos. xiii. 14. ° 1 Cor. xv. 55—57.
" Essays and Reviews, p. 416.
64 Miscellanies.
uttered it ? Shall we be angry with Christ because His
own gracious words are thus fulfilled in us; Blessed are
your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear; for
verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have
not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and
have not heard them ? 8
Shall we not rather be very thankful to Him because He
has revealed to us the meaning of Prophecies which we
could never have explained for ourselves, and which
therefore must ever have remained dark, without a revelation
from Him ?
Shall we not greatly rejoice in the light shed from Christ's
glorious countenance on the dark prophecies of the Old
Testament? Shall we not exult in our own Christian
privileges, because He has opened our eyes, and has opened
the Scriptures to us ?
Consider, also, what glorious gain, in true knowledge, is
ours, not only with regard to the meaning of the Prophecies
of the Old Testament, but of the Types also.
How could we have known, except from Christ, speaking
to us by His holy Apostle, St. Paul, that Adam was a figure
of Christ ?9 How could we have learned the blessed truths,
which flow from that relation, that as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive?'1 Taught by the same
divine voice, speaking in the New Testament, we learn to
read the History of the Flood aright, and see in the Ark a
figure of Christ's Church.2 We learn to behold, in the
offering and deliverance of Isaac, a figure of the Death and
llesurrection of Christ.3 And in the selling of Joseph by
his brethren, his imprisonment, and elevation, we recognize
a figure of Christ's sufferings, and glorious Ascension.4 In.
the Paschal Lamb, the preservative of the Israelites, when
their enemies were slain, we behold the power of Christ, our
8 Matt. xiii. 16, 17. Luke x. 24. Heb. xi. 13.
a Ron*, r. 14. « 1 Cor. xv. 22, 45, 47.
» 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. 3 Heb. xi. 19.
4 Cp. Acts \cii. 9. — 13. Bj). Pearson on the Creed, Art. vi.
Christ explains the Old Testament to us. 65
Passover/ dying on the Cross ; and in the Brazen Serpent,
set up on a pole by God's command, and healing those who
were bitten by serpents of fire, we see a figure of Christ's
Death, and of its blessed consequences to all true Israelites."
The Rock smitten in the wilderness and gushing out with
water, preaches to us Christ, smitten for our sakes.7 The
Manna is a foretaste of the Living Bread from heaven.8 All
the events of the Pilgrimage of the Israelites in the wilder
ness, in their way to Canaan, are not only historical facts,
but are spiritual foreshado wings, and moral warnings, to us : '
and the ritual of the Tabernacle, and especially the entrance
of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies,1 are illumined
with a glorious light shed upon them by Christ in the
Scriptures of the New Testament.
The Jews of old enjoyed a great advantage, as St. Paul
testifies, because they had the Old Testament : unto them
were committed the oracles of God.2 But how much more
privileged are we Christians, even with regard to the Old
Testament itself. For the Old Testament is explained to
us by Christ Himself speaking to us in the New. And
we Christians see both Testaments, like the two Cheru
bim stretching over the Ark of God in the Holy of Holies,
and joining their Wings above the Mercy Seat,3 and we hear
them ever crying to one another in one harmonious song,
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts.4
What therefore shall we say? May we not truly affirm
that Christ Himself is ever walking by our side to a spiritual
Emmaus in the Gospel, and is ever talking with us by the
way, and opening to us the Scriptures ?
What therefore is to be said of some, who have arisen in
our own day, vaunting their own superior spiritual illumina
tion, and professing to have made great advances in Biblical
Criticism, and Theological Science, and who reject this
heavenly enlightenment, beaming forth from the glorious
5 John xix. 36. 1 Cor. v. 7. 6 John iii. 14.
7 1 Cor. x. 4. s John vi< 32, 43, 51.
9 1 Cor. x. 11. Heb. iv. 8, 9 ; xi. 16.
1 Heb. ix. 1, 7—12 ; x. 19, 20. 2 Rom. iii. 2.
3 Exod. xxv. 20. 1 Kings vi. 19, 23. « Isa. vi. 3.
VOL. II. p
66 Miscellanies.
orb of the Sun of Righteousness, even from Christ Himself ;
and who either do not scruple to say that there are no Pro
phecies of Christ in the Old Testament, or that those
Prophecies, which are applied to Him by the Holy Spirit
speaking by His Apostles and Evangelists, are distorted
from their true sense; and who would thus deprive us of
that light which Christ Himself has shed upon the Holy
Scriptures ? What is to be said of such Biblical Critics,
and of such Interpreters of Holy Scripture ? May they not
be compared to ruthless spoilers, who would mar and
deface the beauty of some magnificent Cathedral, where the
light of the sun streams through the windows, rich with
various colours, and adorned with typical histories of the
Old Testament, prefiguring the graces and blessings poured
upon us in the bright sunshine of the Gospel ; and where it
plays on the walls with brilliant hues, and paints beautiful
pictures upon them, and fills the heart with thankfulness
and joy ? May they not be compared to barbarous and
sacrilegious marauders, who would block up those windows
with coarse mortar and rubble, and change that fair Temple
into a dark Tomb ; and then boast themselves consummate
Architects, and claim honour and gratitude at our hands !
Let us not close up the windows of Holy Scripture ; and
let us not close up the windows of our hearts. But let us
bless Christ for the light of His countenance ; let us walk as
children of Light ; while we have the Light, let us believe
in the Light ; 5 and may it lead us, at length, to the inheri
tance of the saints in light,6 and to the city of the heavenly
Jerusalem, which the glory of God doth lighten, and the
Lamb is the light thereof.7
A great deal of the prevalent Scepticism is attributable
to erroneous notions on this subject.
" Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet ; Vetus Testamen-
tum in Novo patet." The " New Testament is enfolded in
the Old ; and the Old Testament is unfolded in the New,"
is a saying of St. Augustine which ought always to be
present to the reader and interpreter of the Bible; and
6 John xii. 36. 6 Col. i. 12.
" Rev. xxii. 23.
Spiritual Interpretation of Old Testament. 67
many would have been preserved from cavilling at the Bible,
if they had remembered it. Another saying of his deserves
attention. " Whatever difficulty you may have in reading
Scripture, consider it with reference to Christ, and if you find
that light is reflected upon it from that reference, you may pre
sume that you have understood it aright." The History of
the Creation ; of the formation of Man from the dust ; and of
Woman out of Man ; of the first Sabbath ; of the Fall of Man ;
of the two spiritual families of Cain and Abel; oTthe Flood;
of the destruction of Sodom ; of the Call of Abraham ; the
birth of Isaac, the Offering up of Isaac ; the lives of the
Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; of Joseph in
Egypt ; the going down of Israel into Egypt ; the ministry
of Moses and Aaron ; the Ten Plagues ; the Passover ; the
Exodus; the drying up of the Eed Sea; the Smitten Bock;
the giving of the Law from Sinai ; the Tabernacle ; the Law
of Sacrifices ; the wanderings in the Wilderness ; the march
across the dry bed of Jordan, under Joshua, and with the
leading of the Ark ; the renewal of Circumcision ; the fall
of Jericho ; the staying of the Sun-light — all these things
are inexplicable mysteries, unless they are read in the light
of the New Testament and of the Countenance of Christ.
But their historical truth is vindicated, and they, are
recognized at once as resting on the solid foundation of
Divine Wisdom, Truth, and Love, as soon as they are read
by that light, and are interpreted from the revelations of
the Gospel.
Similar remarks, mutatis mutandis, might be made with
regard to the interpretation of the prophetical writings also.
As St. Paul says, the Jews read them with a vail on their
hearts ; but that vail is done away in Christ (2 Cor. iii. 13).
This method of interpreting the historical and pro
phetical writings of the Old Testament is so large a subject,
and so much has been said upon it in my Commentary on
the Holy Bible, especially in the Introductions to Genesis,
Leviticus, Joshua, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah and the Minor
Prophets, that I venture to refer here to those Introductions
for further illustration of it.
P 2
68 Miscellanies.
PART IV.
LET us now advance a step further.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Prophet and Teacher,
the Incarnate Word of God, the Divine Interpreter of the
Written Word, wills us to receive Scripture as one harmo
nious whole. He has given us this Rule of Interpretation by
His own teaching, and by that of His Apostles. If we wish
to understand the Bible, we must not separate one portion
of it from another; we must endeavour to ascertain its sense
by comparing- spiritual things with spiritual.
" Comparing spiritual things with spiritual." St. Paul in
these words instructs us, that we must not compare spiritual
things with things carnal. Here is one important caution. We
must not confound divine things with human ; we must not
judge of heavenly things by the evidence of our senses ; we
must not apply our Reason to criticize articles of Faith. And
we mustw0£ take spiritual things singly, tint we must join them
together, and regard theni as component parts of a systematic
whole. As the ancient Expositors * observe, commenting on
these words of St, Paul, whenever we see anything that
perplexes us in any spiritual truth, we must look for a con
firmation or explanation of it in some other spiritual truth.
For example, in contemplating the history of Christ's birth
from a Virgin Mother, let us think of the formation of the
first Adam from the Virgin Earth, and the production of the
Trees of Paradise without any previous seed-time ; and of
the birth of Isaac from parents long barren. In reading of
Christ's Resurrection after the three days' Burial, let us
think of the Prophet Jonah coming forth from the depths of
the sea. And when we meditate on the Mystery of Christ's
sufferings, and our own Redemption by His Blood, let us
recur to the history of the Paschal Lamb and the passage of
the Israelites through the Red Sea, and the Rock smitten in
the wilderness. In such supernatural mysteries as these, let
1 Origen, Chrysostom, and Thcodoret on the text 1 Cor. ii. 13. This
sense of arvyKpivovres (comparing), which has been questioned by some
critics of later times, is confirmed by the general consent of the ancient
Greek Fathers.
Scripture to be Interpreted as a whole. 69
us not resort to the purblind reasonings of carnal wisdom,
which rather darken than enlighten the mind ; but, by the
careful collation of like passages of Holy Scripture, let us
seek to obtain a clearer revelation of the mind of the Holy
Ghost. Like wise spiritual Astronomers, let us not fix our
eyes merely on single stars, but let us observe the glorious
constellations which God has set in the firmament of Holy
Scripture. Like watchful spiritual Mariners, let us steer our
course by their light to the harbour of heavenly rest.2
The value of this rule of Interpretation may be shown by
the evil consequences which have ensued from the neglect of
it. It is a characteristic of the Divine mind in Holy Scrip
ture) to speak strongly on special points of Christian doctrine
in particular places of Holy Writ, and to leave it to the reader
of Scripture to supply the correlative truths from other por
tions of Holy Writ, which are necessary to complete, the state
ment of the doctrine as a whole. Sometimes HoJy Scripture
startles us by seeming paradoxes,3 and staggers us by hard
sayings/ and perplexes us by riddles and enigmas. And
why does the Divine Author of Scripture deal thus with us ?
2 As George Herbert says, in his exquisitely beautiful lines •' On the
Holy Scriptures :" —
" Oh, that I knew how all thy lights combine,
And the configurations of their glorie !
Seeing not only how each verse doth shine,
But all the constellations of the storie.
" This verse marks that, and both do make a motion
Unto a third, that ten leaves off doth lie :
Then as dispersed herbs do match a potion,
These three make up some Christian's destinie.
" Such are thy secrets, which my life makes good,
And comments on thee : for in ev'ry thing
Thy words do finde me out, and parallels bring,
And in another make me understood.
" Starres are poore books, and oftentimes do misse ;
This Book of starres lights to etcrnall blisse."
3 E. g. Luke xiv. 26 : " If any one come to Me, and hate not his father
and mother."
4 E. g. John vi. 53, GO, our Lord's discourse on the necessity of eating
His Flesh and drinking His Blood, explained by His words in Matt. xxvi.
26—28 : " Take, eat, this is My Body." " Drink ye all of this : for this
is My Blood of the New Testament;" words spoken just a year after-
70 Miscellanies.
In order to try us. He does it iu order to allow us, if we
will, to carp and cavil, and to rely on our own reason, with
overweening pride and presumption, by which we shall be
self-condemned ; He does it in order to teach us thai all parts
of Scripture are dependent on one another, like limbs of a
well-organized body, or like parts of a beautiful building;
He does it in order that we may not confine our attention
to any one part of Scripture, to the neglect of others,
but may carefully consider the whole; and in order to
exercise our patience and diligence in searching the Scrip
tures,5 and to test and prove us, whether we possess those
moral dispositions of meekness, candour, and love of truth,
which are requisite for admission into the kingdom of God.
But this divine plan in the structure of Holy Scripture is
disregarded by many ; and great and manifold are the evils
which have thence arisen.
The Jewish Rabbis would not receive Jesus of Nazareth.
And why ? Because their minds were riveted on those Pro
phecies of the Old Testament which declared the glory and
triumph of Christ ; but they would know nothing of those
other Prophecies which pre-announced His sufferings.
In like manner almost all the false Doctrines which have
been propagated in Christendom may be traced to partial
views of Holy Scripture. It was long ago observed by
Fathers of the Church,8 that it is the characteristic of all
Heretics to fix their eyes upon particular texts of Scripture,
and to detach them from the context, and to bend, twist, and
wrench the rest of Scripture with wilful violence, so as to
make it suit their own mis-interpretations of those single
wards, at the institution of the Holy Eucharist ; so that they who heard
the first discourse had a twelve months' probation before it was explained
to them in the second.
The same may be said of Christ's words concerning the other Sacra
ment : " Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the Kingdom of God " (John iii. 5), which were afterwards cleared up
by His commission to the Apostles, " Go and teach all nations, baptizing
them." Matt, xxviii. 19.
5 John v. 39 ; vii. 38.
6 Tertullian, c. Praxeam, c. 20: "Proprium hoc est omnium haereti-
corum." See also S. Hippolytus, c. Noetum, c. 3.
" The proportion of Faith" 71
texts, instead of endeavouring to ascertain the meaning of
those single texts, by reference to oilier texts, which ought
to be placed in juxtaposition with them, and to the general
scope and tenour of Holy Writ. Thus they disturbed the
balance, and marred the proportion of faith.7
For instance, the Sabellians of old, who denied the dis
tinct personality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
and affirmed that they were only three names of one and the
same Divine Person, appealed to our Lord's words recorded
by St. John,8 Believest thou not that I am in the Father,
and the Father in Me ? and they shut their eyes to the mul
titude of other testimonies in Scripture which declare that
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three Persons
in one Godhead.9 Bat the ancient Christian Writers, in
contending with those false Teachers, protested against such
a proceeding. "Do not take Scripture piecemeal," they
said, " but consider the drift of the whole." *
Almost all the errors which have been disseminated concern
ing the Person of Christ have proceeded from a like source.
" What think ye of Christ ? " said our Lord to the Pha
risees, " whose Son is He ? They say unto Him, The Son
of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in
spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord,
Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool ? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his
Son ? And no man was able to answer Him a word.2 ''
The Jews in this respect were the forerunners of the Arians,
as the Ancient Fathers remarked,3 and of the Socinians of
later days.4 They would have Christ a great Conqueror and
King, a great Prophet and Teacher, but, in their ill-informed
7 Rom. xii. 6. See S. Hilary's Treatise de Synodis, addressed to the
Bishops of France, Germany, Spain, and Britain, c. 85 ; and the remarks
added to the treatise of Sixtus Senensis, Ars Interpretandi Scripturas,
Regula xci. ed. Colon. 1588, p. 382.
8 xiv. 10.
9 E. g. Matt. iii. 16, 17 ; xxviii. 19. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. Eph. ii. 18.
1 Cp. S. Hippol. c. Noet. cc. 3, 4, and his recently discovered " Refu
tation of all Heresies," p. 289, ed. Miller.
2 Matt. xxii. 41 — 46. 3 S. Athanasius, adv. Arianos, Orat. ii.
4 Cp. Professor Blunt on the Early Church, p. 117.
72 Miscellanies.
zeal for the Divine Unity, they would not have a Messiah
co-equal, co-eternal with Jehovah. Like the Arians and
Socinians, they professed a belief in the Unity of the God
head, but would not admit a plurality of Persons. And why
was this ? Because they dwelt only on certain texts which
declared the Messiah's Manhood ; but did not take into view
those other texts, to one of which Christ here refers them;
which speak of His glorious Godhead. In like manner, the
Arian and Socinian will quote our Lord's words, The Father
is greater than I,s but they will know nothing of His other
sayings recorded in the same Gospel, I and the Father are
one,6 and that all men must honour the Son, as they honour
the Father,7 and, in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.8 But the
Church of Christ looks at both sets of texts, and harmonizes
them all in one confession of Christ, "Very God and Very
Man ; " and sees in Him " the Eoot and the Offspring of
David ; " 9 the Offspring of David as Man, and the Root of
David as God.1
In early days, certain persons arose, who denied the
restorative efficacy of Repentance, and of the means of
grace, after deadly sin, — the Montanists and Novatians.
And how did they build up their heresy ? On the founda
tion 2 of some isolated places of Scripture, especially of the
words near the beginning of the sixth chapter of the Epistle
to the Hebrews : " It is impossible to renew unto repentance
those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the
heavenly gift if they shall fall away, seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to
an open shame."
The whole tenour of Holy Scripture, proclaiming pardon
to the penitent sinner, was to be set aside ; the love and
tenderness of the Father of mercies, the cleansing virtue
5 John xiv. 28. 6 John x. 30.
7 John v. 23. 8 John i. 1.
9 Rev. xxii. 16.
1 " The true sense of Scripture," says Pascal (Pensees, Seconde Par tie,
Art. ix. sect, xiii.), " is that in which all passages of Scripture meet. All
the seeming contradictions of Scripture are reconciled in Jesus Christ."
3 Cp. Tertullian de Pudicitia, c. 20; and Philastr. User. c. 89.
Divine foreknowledge and human freewill.
i ^
/ j
of Christ's Blood, and the sanctifying influences of the Holy
Spirit, were all to be disparaged and forgotten, in order
that their arbitary interpretation of a few lines of Holy
Scripture might prevail.3 Placed alone in the scale, that
mis-interpretation was to have sufficient force to turn the
balance in their favour and to outweigh all other consider
ations.
In later days, those persons who have framed a peculiar
scheme4 of Reprobation and Election, have fixed their atten
tion on certain portions of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans,
especially in the ninth chapter.4 They have contended there
from, that God has created some men as vessels for destruction.
They have placed those portions of Scripture in their own
theological microscope, and have pored intently upon them,
as on shreds and fibres of plants; or on insects' wings, and
have excluded other texts from their range, and have
magnified the dimensions of those particular passages in
the Epistle, till they seem almost to have forgotten that
the main design of the whole of that Epistle5 to the Romans
is to proclaim God's free grace to all men in Christ, and
that the Apostle expressly declares in it, that God gave His
own Son for us all ; and that the same Apostle says that
God will have all men to be saved, and that Christ is the
Saviour of all men, and tasted death for every man,6 and
that he asserts that God vouchsafes to every man the free
exercise of his will, and invites and enables him by His
grace to accept His merciful offers of salvation in Jesus
Christ. Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart
from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels
of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and
some to honour, and some to dishonour. And what does the
Apostle add ? If a man therefore purge himself from these
Jte shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the
master's use, and ftrepared unto every good work.7
3 Cp. Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. x.
4 The Calvinistic scheme ; the Lambeth Articles.
5 Rom. viii. 32. May I refer to my Introduction to it ?
6 1 Tim. ii. 4. Titus ii. 11. 1 Tim. iv. 10. Heb. ii. 9.
7 2 Tim. ii. 19—21.
74 Miscellanies.
Let us not take any single texts by themselves, but let
us compare things spiritual with spiritual, and we shall see
that the Doctrines of Divine Grace and Human Free Will
are like the prismatic hues of the rainbow, differing indeed
in colour, but softly shaded off and melting into one
another, and blending amicably together in one beautiful
picture.
Similar remarks maybe made, on the great doctrine of
Justification.
In opposition to the vain-glorious presumption of those,
especially among the Jews, who desired to justify them
selves, and who thought that they could earn heavenly
glory as wages due to their own works, St. Paul taught, in
his Epistles to the Galatians and Romans, that it is God
Who justifieth : 8 that He, by His free love and favour to us
in Christ, is the Author of our Justification ; and that the
spiritual organ, by which Christ's merits are to be appre
hended by each of us individually, and to be applied to our
own personal justification, is Faith.
But this necessary and comfortable doctrine has been
abused by many into an apology for a barren profession of
belief in Christ, to the disparagement of Christian Charity,
and of Christian Holiness. And why ? Because they who
thus deal with St. Paul's doctrine, have detached it from
the context, and from other parts of Holy Scripture, with
which it ought to be combined. They have rudely torn it
as a branch from the parent tree, and have planted the slip
in the small plot and narrow garden of their own exclusive
theology, and have expected it to flourish there. But there
it withers and dies.
The Apostolic statement of Justification by Faith, which
is a salutai'y corrective of man's pride, seeking to establish
his own righteousness,9 is not to be severed from its native
stock of Holy Scripture; it is to be preserved entire in
its relation to the whole tree ; it is to be considered in
its original combination with those fruitful precepts of
Christian Charity and Holiness, with which both those
8 Rom. viii. 33. Cp. my Introduction to the Epistle.
9 Rom. x. 3.
The Doctrine of Justification. 75
Epistles end,1 as the sum and substance of the whole ; it is
to be combined with the Apostle's declaration, that the end
of the Law is Charity,3 that the Faith which profits, is
Faith working by Love ;3 that Faith, which could even move
mountains, profiteth nothing without Charity;4 that they
who believe in God must be careful to maintain good works ;5
and that we shall all be judged hereafter according to our
woi'ks.6 It is to be taken in combination with the teaching
of St. Paul in his latest Epistles, those to Timothy and
Titus, which abound with strong protests against the error
of such persons as say that they know God, but in works
deny Him,7 and have a form of godliness but deny its power.8
It is to be taken in combination with the doctrine of St.
Paul's brother Apostle, St. James, whose Epistle is directed
against those who cherished a vain conceit that they could
attain everlasting salvation by a formal profession of faith,
barren of good works.9
The doctrine of Justification by Faith, thus combined
with other parts of Holy Scripture, is indeed a most fruitful
doctrine. On the one hand it declares God's free grace to
all, and the plenary virtue of Christ's sufferings on the cross,
and condemns all presumptuous notions of any merit on
our part, and teaches us not to look inward on ourselves
for Justification, but to raise our eyes upward to heaven,
and to stretch forth our hands, and to lay hold on the merits
of Jesus Christ the Lord our Righteousness,1 and to cling to
them with the grasp of Faith.
On the other hand, it reminds us that the hand of Faith,
by which we must lay hold on Christ's merits, is not to be
a cold and palsied limb, but to be firmly strung with nerves
and sinews of spiritual energy, and to be warmed with the
healthful life-blood of Christian love ; and that the Faith
1 Rom. xli. 9—21 ; xiii. 1—10. Gal. v. 13—26 ; vi. 1—10.
2 Rom. xiii. 10. 3 Gal. v. 6.
4 1 Cor. xiii. 2. 5 Titus iii. 8.
6 Rom. ii. 6; xiv. 12. 1 Cor. iii. 8. 2 Cor. v. 10. Eph. vi. 8. Col.
iii. 24, 25.
' Titus i. 16. 8 2 Tim. iii. 5.
9 James ii. 19, 20 — 26. Cp. i. 26, and my Introduction to it.
1 Jer. xxiii. 6 ; xxxiii. 16. Cp. 1 Cor. i. 30.
76 Miscellanies.
which justifies is that living principle which ever moves and
works iri unison and harmony With God's will and word.
Again ; the Doctrine of Sauctifi cation cannot be under
stood aright Without a similar process of Interpretation
applied to Holy Writ.
We all need the regenerating and renovating influence
of God the Holy Ghost. We confess that the living waters of
His grace flow freely to all. We hear the Holy Spirit's voice,
" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money ; come ye, buy and eat.2 I will give
unto him that is athirst, of the fountain of the water of
life freely." 3
But we should not rightly interpret the mind of the Holy
Ghost, if we did not combine such gracious intimations as
these with His own divine declarations in other parts of
that Word, that the living waters of His Grace flow freely
indeed to all, but also flow regularly in certain rivers and
channels, especially in the Holy Scriptures, and in the Holy
Sacraments, and in Prayer, and in Confirmation ; and we
shall, therefore, not presume that His promises will be
made good to us, unless we comply with the conditions
which He has annexed to them ; but we shall thankfully
refresh ourselves with the living waters of His grace by
drinking them from those spiritual streams in which those
waters flow.
Yet further : the Facts contained in Holy Scripture are
to be treated in the same way as the Doctrines ; that is,
not independently, but in connexion with each other. Here
also we must compare spiritual tilings with spiritual.
For example, if we take away portions of the Gospels,
and separate them from the rest, they may sometimes perplex
us ; but if we regard them as connected together, they will
illustrate and confirm each other.
Let us not rashly rend asunder this holy union. Let us
not, for instance, imitate those of modern times 4 who allege,
a Isa. Iv. 1! 3 Rev. xxi. 6; xxii. 17.
4 E. g. Schleiermacher, De Wette, Strauss, Bruno, Bauer, and^others,
followed by Essays and Reviews, p. 346, 351, and well refuted by
Dr. Davidson, Introduction to the Gospels, i. pp. 116 — 118.
Harmonization of facts. 77
that because the Evangelist St. Matthew says nothing of
the sojourn of the Blessed Virgin at Nazareth, but speaks
of her first at Bethlehem, therefore St. Luke is in error,
because he places her at Nazareth before she went to Beth
lehem. But let us compare spiritual things with spiritual.
Let us bear in mind what was the general scope of those
two Gospels respectively \ the one, that of St. Matthew,
designed especially for the Jews; the other, that of St.
Luke, intended for the Gentile world. \Ye shall then see,
why, in the one, that of Sit. Matthew, the Holy Spirit dwells
particularly on the Birth at Bethlehem, the City of David,
and why, in the other, that of St. Luke, He mentions the
previous sojourn of Mary and the conception at Nazareth,
in Galilee of the Gentiles. Similar remarks may be made
on the two Genealogies of those two Gospels ; as I haye
endeavoured to show in my Commentary on them.
Thus the Holy Ghost distributes spiritual food in due
season to all, by the hands of the Holy Evangelists. Let
us thankfully receive it from them.
Again. There are some professing to l?e wise, who
venture5 to disbelieve the miracle of the Raising of Lazarus,
and to question the authority of tjie Gospel History, because
that miracle was not noticed by any one of the three earlier
Evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, but is
first mentioned by St. John, who did not publish his Gospel
till about seventy years, after the Ascension of Christ. If
this stupendous miracle was really wrought, how is it, they
ask, that it was passed over in silence by all the first three
Historians of our Lord's Ministry ?
Let us compare things spiritual with spiritual, and we
have a ready answer to this objection. The first three
Evangelists mention the wonderful enthusiasm with which
the People received our Lord when He came from Bethany
to Jerusalem. They took up branches of trees and cried
Hosanna to the Son of David.' How is this enthusiasm to
5 See a summary of their theories in Meyer's Kommentar, p. 298 ; and
in De Wette's Erkliirung, p. 197.
6 Matt. xxi. 8, 9. Mark xi. 8—10. Luke xix. 36—40.
78 Miscellanies.
be explained ? What was the cause of that rapturous
ecstasy and of those strains of adoration ? The miracle
wrought by our Lord at Bethany, and related by St. John
alone, supplies the clue to the actions of the people, described
by the other Evangelists. For this cause, says St. John
himself, the People also met Him, coming from Bethany, for
that they heard that He had done this miracle.
Pass to another book, the Acts of the Apostles.
St. Luke, the Author of the Acts, and companion of St.
Paul, never mentions that St. Paul wrote any Epistles.
This is remarkable, since St. Paul is now known to all
Christendom by his Epistles, and since these Epistles often
supply the best commentary on the History of the Acts,
and are in their turn clearly illustrated by it. But the
reader is not referred by the Author of either to the
writings of the other, but is left to search the Scriptures, and
to construct the commentary for himself.
Doubtless there is divine wisdom in this and other similar
arrangements. There is Inspiration in this Silence.
The various portions of Scripture are ever touching one
another without any evidence of effort on their part ; and
thus give strength and support to each other, and pre
sent the Holy Scriptures to our view as one symmetrical
whole.
These points of contact have sometimes been called " un
designed coincidences." But surely this is hardly a correct
description of them. Nothing in the Holy Scriptures is
without design. The Author of them is God ; and whatever
He does, He designs; and whatever He designs, He does.
There is no such thing as chance in Scripture. There are
no accidents in the Bible. The silent adjustment of one
part of Scripture to another is not the less designed, because
we do not at first perceive the design ; but rather the non-
appearance of design was itself designed by God, in order
that we might search for, and discover, the coincidences, and
that they might serve for our moral probation, and show
what manner of spirit and temper we are of. A key is not
the less designed for a lock, because the key happens not to
be in the lock, but may be hung up on a peg or a nail at a
Christ interpreting by the Spirit in the Church. 79
distance from the lock, or perhaps be in some other part of
the house, and not in the same room as the door is to
which the key belongs : and our diligence is tried by the
search we make for the key. The keys of Holy Scripture
are not always in. the locks to which they belong.7 They
are very often hung up at a distance from the door : they
are very often in other rooms of the house. All this is done
with a wise design : namely, in order that our diligence may
be used in searching for the keys ; and that our labour may
be employe^ in stretching out our hands to take down the
keys from the place in which they hang, and our patience
may be exercised in trying whether the keys will fit the
locks. And if we find on trial, that the keys fit the locks,
and move in the wards, and open the doors, then we may be
sure that the keys were designed for the doors, however
little at first sight they seemed to us to be so.
PART V.
LET us now proceed to contemplate Jesus Christ inter
preting the Bible in matters of faith, by the presence and
power of the Holy Spirit in the Universal Church.
Our Blessed Lord, when He was about to leave His Apostles
and to ascend into heaven, said to them : Lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. After His Ascension
the Apostles and Evangelists were endued with power from
on high ; l they were inspired by the Holy Ghost, Whom
Christ sent down from heaven to teach them all things, and
guide them into all truth, and to bring to their remembrance
whatsoever He had said unto them ; 2 and were enabled to
write the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament ; and those
Scriptures have been preserved to us in their original in-
7 Cp. Origen, Prolog, in Psalmos ; and S. Hilary, Prolog, in Psalm.
§ 24, where he compares the Book of Psalms to a beautiful City, with
numerous houses ; the doors of which are locked with various keys, which
are to be searched for with diligence, and then to be applied to the doors.
1 Luke xxiv. 49. a John xiv. 26 ; xvi. 13.
So Miscellanies.
tegrity, and are now circulated everywhere. Their sound is
gone out into all lands, and their words into the ends qf the
world 3.
But the History of t]ie Christian Church, since the days
of the Apostles, shows that those Scriptures have been
interpreted in different ways ; and many of these diversities
of Interpretation concern the fundamental Articles of the
Christian Faith.
The Faith js one 4. Only the true sense of Scripture is
Scripture : and without faith it is impossible fco please God5.
The Holy Scriptures, as St. Paul assures us, are able to make
us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ6; and the
prophet Isaiah describes the way of holiness as a plain way,
a way clear and open to simple men ; the wayfaring men,
though fools, shall not err therein.7
We are not now referring to questions of T$ at ijral Philosophy
and Physical Science 8, or to controverted points of Sacred
History or Chronology, which may remain unresolved without
detriment to our souls. But we speak of the Articles of the
Christian Faith, which are necessary for our salvation ; and
the question for our consideration is —
In the Interpretation of the Bible, in matters of Christian
Doctrine, is there not provided for all men some safeguard
against error, and some sure guidance into truth ?
If so, where is it ?
Our answer is this. Christ is the Everlasting Word ; He
is the Author of the Written Word ; He is also the Inter
preter of the Bible. He has given us the Scriptures by the
Holy Spirit, and He expounds the Scriptures by the same
Spirit, and that Spirit dwells in His Church Universal. He
declares to us the true meaning of Holy Scripture, in all
necessary points of Christian Doctrine, in the Creeds and
Confessions of Faith, received by the Catholic Church.
The presence of Christ, it is true, is no longer visible, but
it is not the less real on that account. He is always walking
3 Ps. xix. 4. * Eph. iv. 5.
5 Heb. xi. 6. 6 2 Tim. iii. 15.
7 Isa. xxxv. 8. 8 See above, p. 39.
Christ ever teaching in His Church. 8 1
among the Golden Candlesticks, which are the Churches.9
His own words assure us of this ; I will not leave you com
fortless, I will come unto you.1 Lo ! I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world.2 I will pray the Father,
and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you for ever ; He shall be in you.3 When the Com
forter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father,
even the Spirit of Truth, Which proceedeth from the Father,
He shall testify of Me.4 He shall teach you all things, and
will guide you into all truth. He shall glorify Me, for He
shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.5
Surely these solemn words of Christ have some meaning.
And the Apostles, to whom those words were spoken, and
who received the Holy Ghost to guide them, were the best
judges of their meaning. And how did they understand
them ? Their practice and language show. When a question
arose concerning the obligation of the Levitical Law, and
concerning, therefore, the true meaning of the Scriptures,
in which that Law was contained, they assembled together,
and considered the matter, and framed a decree, which they
sent to the Gentile Churches ; and so the question was
settled.9
Here, however, it may be said, True; but the Apostles
had special gifts from Christ. He spoke in them ; their
sentence was from Him. But did not that power of inter
preting Holy Scripture cease with them ? Was it continued
to after-ages ?
What does Christ Himself say, Lo ! I am with you — I am
with you, a partner with you, working with 7 you, and by
9 Kev. i. 11 ; ii. I. » John xiv. 17.
2 Matt, xxviii. 20. 3 John xiv. 16, 17.
4 John xv. 26. 5 John xiv. 26 ; xvi. 13, 14.
6 Acts xv. 1—31 ; xvi. 4.
7 Observe that the preposition here rendered " with " is not avv, but
>era, which indicates Christ' s participation and co-operation, as well as
concomitancy and presence, with His Apostles.
The force of this preposition (/neru), in this respect, may be best illus
trated bj- its use in the important text of the same Evangelist (Matt.
23), " they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us," Me0' TJH&V 6 6fo? (not avv fjfJiiv), God working with us,
VOL. II. G
8? Miscellanies.
you/ — and I am with you alway, or, as the original expresses
it even more emphatically, all the days,8 even to the end of
the world. And is there not great need of His Presence ? St.
Paul, speaking to the Ephesian Presbyters at Miletus, says,
I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock.9 And St. Paul
commends them to the protection of Christ.1 Is it probable
that the Great Shepherd of the sheep, Who had proved His
love by laying down His life for the sheep, should leave them
defenceless in their dangers ? No. His promise is, Lo ! I
am with you alway, even to the end of the world.
All saving truth is indeed contained in the Bible ; and
nothing is to be added to it. But even in the days of the
Apostles, some false Teachers, as St. Peter testifies, perverted
the sense of the Bible by misinterpretations;2 and almost
all those who have propagated heretical doctrines, from the
first century to the present day, have appealed to Holy
Scripture in behalf of their false doctrines. Many of those
Teachers have been distinguished by learning and ability,
and have displayed great shrewdness and sagacity in per
verting the sense of Scripture, and in applying it in the sup
port and propagation of their own pernicious opinions.3
How, then, is the unlettered Christian to be preserved
from such snares ? How is he to be enabled to stand firm
in the faith ?
By the presence and power of Christ. He is the Shep
herd and Bishop of their souls.4 His promise never fails,
Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.
And how is that promise fulfilled ? How is that power
exercised ? How is that protection vouchsafed ?
Look at the words of Scripture, in which that promise is
contained. Christ first declares His Universal Supremacy.
in us, and by us : God partaking of our Nature, and making us to partake
of His Nature.
8 irda-as ras i]fj.fpas. ' Acts XX. 29.
1 Acts. xx. 32, where the words " give you an inheritance " evidently
refer to a Person.
* 2 Pet. iii. 16. s See above, pp. 70—75.
4 1 Pet. ii. 25.
Christ ever with His Apostles. 83
All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth.6 And
what follows ? A commission, extending to all place and
time. Go ye and teach all nations (or rather make all nations 6
to be disciples), baptizing them in the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to
observe, or keep,7 all things whatsover I have commanded
you ; and lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the
world.
Here is the root of the Christian Faith. It is more ancient
than the New Testament. Every Baptism, administered by
Christ's command, required a profession of Faith in the
three Persons of the Ever-Blessed Trinity ; and whatsoever
contradicts that profession, contradicts Christ Who pre
scribed it.8
5 Matt, xxviii. 18. ' MatftjTcuo-are iravra TO. Wvr\.
8 The administration of Baptism was always coupled with stipulations
on the part of the baptized, " the answer of a good conscience " (see on
1 Pet. Hi. 16, and Tertullian de Corona, c. 3, and de Baptismo, c. 13, and
S. August, de Fide et Op. c. 9), in a word, by the recital of a Creed. This
is well stated by Richard Baxter, who will not be supposed to overrate
the Authority of the Church in matters of Faith, and who clearly points
out how Christ Himself speaks by the HOLT SPIEIT in the Church, in the
Baptismal Creed, —
" 1. The Baptismal covenant (says he, in the Introduction to his
Catholic Theology, 1675, foL), expounded in the ancient Creed, is the
sum and symbol of Christianity, by which believers were to be distin
guished from unbelievers ; and the outward profession of it was men's
title to church communion, and their heart-consent was their title-condition
of pardon and salvation ; and to these ends it was made by Christ Sim-
self. (Matt, xxviii. 20. Mark xvi. 16.)
" 2. All that were baptized did profess to believe in God the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, and devoted themselves to Him with profession of
repentance for former sins, and renouncing the lusta of the flesh, the
world, and the devil, professing to begin a new and holy life, in hope of
everlasting glory.
"3. This form of baptismal covenanting and profession began with
Christianity ; and called our Christening, or making us Christians, has
been propagated, and delivered down to us to this day, by a full and
certain tradition and testimony.
" 4. The Apostles were never such formalists and friends to ignorance
and hypocrisy, as to encourage the baptized to take up with the saying,
I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, without teaching them
to understand what they said. Therefore, undoubtedly, they expounded
0 2
84 Miscellanies.
Heretics arose and impugned this Faith. But Christ's
promise failed not. He used these Heresies for the clearer
manifestation, and stronger confirmation, of the Truth. The
various Heresies, which were put forth in ancient times,
called forth the vigilance of Bishops and Pastors of Christ's
Church ; and stimulated them to sewrch the Scriptures, and
to declare the true sense of the Bible, and to vindicate the
primitive Faith, which they had received from their fore
fathers, and to condemn the erroneous doctrines by which
that Faith was assailed.
For example : The false tenets of Sabellianism aroused the
zeal of the Church in behalf of the true faith in the Ever-
Blessed Trinity. The errors of Photinians and Arians were
made subservient to the clearer manifestation of the God
head of Christ. The Heresy of the Macedonians became an
occasion for the fuller declaration of the Divinity of the
Holy Ghost. The errors of Marcionites and Manichseans,
those three articles ; and that Exposition could be no other in sense than
the Creed is. And when St. Paul recites the articles of Christianity
(1 Cor. xv.), and mentions the form of sound words (2 Tim. i. 13), we
may be sure that they all gave the people one unchanged exposition as to
the sense. Christianity was one unchanged thing.
" 5. Though I am not of their mind, that think the Twelve Apostles
each one made an article of the Creed, or that they formed and tied men
to just the very same syllables, and every word that is now in the Creed ;
yet that they still kept to the same sense and words so expressing it, as
by their variation might not endanger the corrupting of the faith by a
new sense, is certain from the nature of the case, and from the agreement
of all the ancient Creeds which were ever professed at Baptism from
their days ; that cited by me (Appendix to Reformed Pastor) out of
Irenceus, two out of Tertullian, that of Marcellus in Epiphanius, that
expounded by Cyril, that in Ruffinus, the Nicene Creed, and all men
tioned by Ussher and Fossius, agreeing thus far in sense. And no one
was baptized without the Creed professed.
" 6. As Christ HimseJfw&s the Author of the baptismal Creed and
Covenant, so the Apostles were the Authors of that exposition which
they then used, and taught the Church to use. And they did that by the
Holy Ghost, as much as their inditing of the Scripture.
"7. Therefore the Church had a summary and symbol of Christianity,
as I said before, about twelve years before any book of the New Testament
was written, and about sixty-six years before the whole was written, and
this of God's own making ; and which was even agreed on when many
books of the New Testament were not yet agreed on." (R. Baxter.)
The Work of Christ in the Church. 85
affirming that the Old Testament is contrary to the New,
stirred up those who proved their agreement. Pelagianism
was converted into an opportunity for vindicating the Grace
of God. Donatism called forth wise and learned advocates
who maintained the Universality of Christ's Church. Thus,
says an ancient Father/ the errors of Heresy subserved the
cause of Truth. Those holy men, who refuted the errors
and vindicated the Truth, did not imagine that they were
creating, or could create, any new doctrine. No. They knew
and taught that all Christian doctrine is contained in the
Holy Scriptures. There the Truth was, like the noon-day
Sun in the heavens. The Fathers and Councils of the Church
could not add a single new doctrine to the primitive Christian
Faith, any more than they could add a new beam to the Sun.
But the mists and clouds of Heresy had arisen and obscured
the Sun; arid under God's Providence, Who rules tho
storm and vapours fulfilling His Word? the winds of contro
versy were made to disperse the mists, and to sweep away
the clouds ; and calm daylight was restored, and the Sun
shone brightly in the sky of the Church.
This blessed work of clarification was effected by Christ.
It was He, Who, by His presence and Spirit in the Church,
enabled her to confute error and display the Truth. Thus
He fulfilled His promise, Lo ! I am with you alway, even to
the end of the world.
But, it may be said, How can we be sure, that some of
these opinions, which the Christian Church condemns as false,
may not be true ? How can we be certain, that some of
those doctrines which the Christian Church proclaims in her
Creeds as true, may not be false ?
Look again at the words of Christ. All power is given unto
Me in Heaven and in Earth. Here is an assertion of Univer
sal Supremacy ; and it is coupled with an Universal Com-
9 S. Ambrose, de Incarnat. iv., and S. Augustine frequently dwells on
the same thing. See his Tractat. in Joann. xxxvi., and Ps. liv., and
Ps. Ixvii. ; and compare Hooker, V. xliii. 6 : " These contentions occa
sioned the learned and sound in faith to explain such things as Heresy
went about to deprave."
1 Ps.cxlviii. 8
86 Miscellanies.
mission to the Apostles, to teach all truth to all Nations ;
Teach them, He says, to observe, or keep, all things,
whatsoever I have commanded you. And this Commission
is followed by a promise of His perpetual presence in every
age, Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the
world.
We may be sure, that the Holy Apostles, who were
guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit sent by Christ for
this purpose, complied with Christ's command, and did teach
all truth. We may therefore conclude, that whatever doc
trine can be shown to have been generally received by the
primitive Apostolic Churches, is true, and is a part of Christ's
own teaching. And on the other hand, we may be certain,
that whatever doctrine can be proved to have been unknown
to the Ancient Apostolic Churches, or to have been contra
dicted by them, is novel, and therefore false ; it is no part of
Christ's doctrine, it is no part of the Faith which was once
for all delivered to the saints?
Here, therefore, we have two Touchstones of Truth;
namely, first, Antiquity, and, next, Universality.
On the other hand, we also see two characteristics of
Error; namely, first, Novelty, and, secondly, Partiality.
If we examine the most ancient Creeds and Confessions
of Faith,3 we find that the doctrines therein contained are
marked by the tokens of Truth here specified; and are
thus distinguished from the errors by which they are con
travened.
Accordingly, the Ancient Fathers, in reciting the
Creed of the Church, describe it as derived from Apostolic
teaching, diffused throughout the world. Thus, for example,
1 Jude 3.
3 E. g. the Roman, commonly called the Apostles' Creed ; the Creed
in S. Irenseus, in Tertullian, and S. Cyprian, and in S. Gregory Thau-
maturgus ; the Creed of Jerusalem expounded by S. Cyril ; the Creed of
Csesarea; the Creed of Alexandria; the Creed of Antioch; the Creed of
Aquileia ; the Nicene Creed ; which may be seen in Bingham's Anti
quities, book x. chap. 3.
The substantial unity and circumstantial variety of these several
Creeds are very worthy of remark, as showing that these Creeds came
from independent witnesses, all agreeing in one faith.
Antiquity ', Unity, and Universality. 87
a learned Father,* who was a scholar of S. Polycarp the dis
ciple of St. John, having rehearsed a Confession of Faith,
similar in substance to what we call the Apostles' Creed,
thus speaks, — " The Church, though scattered throughout
the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, hath re
ceived from the Apostles and their disciples this Faith
. . . . , and she diligently keeps it, as if she dwelt in one
house."
Another ancient Writer 5 in the West speaks in similar
terms, — " This rule of Faith, being established by Christ
Himself, admits no questions among us, except such as are
raised by Heresy and make heretics. This Faith we have
received from the Apostles. Truth, we know, is more
ancient than error. That doctrine is most ancient, which
can be traced to the beginning ; 6 but Novelty is an evidence
of falsehood; and whatever comes from the Apostles, that
is from the beginning." " All doctrine," he says, " which
agrees with the faith of the Apostolic Churches is to be
received as true; because it is that which those Churches
received from the Apostles, and which the Apostles re
ceived from Christ ; but every doctrine is false which
is at variance with the Faith of those Churches, and of
Christ/' 7
It is not possible that the Apostles should have been
ignorant of Christ's doctrine; and it is not possible that
the primitive Apostolic Churches should have been igno
rant of the doctrine taught by the Apostles. The nearer it
is to the source, the more pure is the stream.
The agreement of those Churches in that one Faith, is also,
as that ancient Author observes, a proof of its Truth. " It
was not possible for them all to have erred into Unity*
Error would have caused diversity. The Doctrine which is
one and the same among so many primitive Churches, cannot
S. Irenseus, i. c. 2, 3 ; iii. c. 1 — 4. Cp. Hooker, III. i. 5, and V.
xlii. 1.
5 Tertullian, Praescr. Hseret. c. 14 ; and see his Treatise De Virgin.
Velandis, c. 1.
6 Tertullian, c. Marcion. iv. 5. 7 Ibid. Prescript, c. 21.
Ibid. c. 28.
88 Miscellanies.
be false, but must have been received by them from the
Apostles, and was received by the Apostles from Christ."
These principles may serve to assist us in our own en
deavours to avoid error, and to hold fast the Truth.
Let us apply them to the Confessions of Faith in our
Liturgy, specially to that Creed, commonly called the Nicene
Creed,9 in which we join at the Holy Communion.
Why do we regard that Creed as a true Interpretation of
the Faith contained in the Bible ? Why do we reject all
Interpretations of the Bible which are at variance with that
Creed?
We do so on the authority of Christ. We do so, because
He said to His Apostles, Go teach all Nations, baptizing
them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatso
ever I have commanded you ; and because He added this
promise, Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the
world.
We revere * that Creed, because we know it to have been
framed by holy men (Bishops, heads of churches, successors
of the Apostles), who had many advantages which we do
not possess, for the right Interpretation of the New Tes
tament ; especially because the language in which the New
Testament was written was their native tongue ; and because
they possessed many ancient writings penned by Apostolic
men, which are not now extant, and which served for the
elucidation of the New Testament; and because abundant
spiritual graces were shed upon the Church in the age when
that Creed was2 framed; and because those holy men had
contended valiantly for the Faith in times of Persecution ;
and because they had been in daily peril of death, and had
the most urgent motives to examine and ascertain the truth ;
and because they employed the helps of mutual conference
9 Published at Nicsea A.D. 325, and sometimes called also the Constan-
tinopolitan Creed, from the additions made at Constantinople, A.D. 381.
1 Cp. Bp. Bull, Defensio Fidei Nicsense, i. 1.
2 Or rather rep iillishcd ; for in substance it had existed from much
earlier times. See Socrates, H. E. i. 8 ; Theodoret, H. E. i. 12. Wheatly
on the Nicene Creed, p. 42.
Why we receive the Nicene Creed. 89
and deliberation; and because, being more than three
hundred in number, they came together from various parts
of Christendom; and because they brought with them
from their several Churches a true report of the doctrines
which had been received by those Churches from the Holy
Apostles ; and because they prayed devoutly for the divine
illumination of the Holy Ghost upon their- deliberations; and
because they placed the Bible before them as the chart and
compass of their counsels ; and because they agreed in their
judgment, and delivered that Creed to future generations,
and joined with one heart and voice in professing it, and
declared it to be the true sense of Holy Scripture, which
the primitive Churches of Christendom had received from
Jesus Christ.
Yet further ; we receive the Nicene Creed, because we
know that when it had been framed and promulgated, at such
a time, by such persons, and in such a manner, it was forth
with accepted, by the Church Universal, which is the mystical
Body of Christ,3 and to which He has promised His presence
and His Spirit, and against which the Gates of Hell shall
not prevail :4 which is the Church of the Living God, the
Pillar and Ground of the Truth ; 6 and because this Creed
has been maintained by the great Body of Christians in
almost all parts of Christendom to this hour.
Therefore we need not hesitate to say, that Christ's
promise has been made good to us in this Creed, and that
in it He is present, and speaks by the Voice of the Holy
Spirit dwelling in His Church, and declares to us the true
sense of the Bible, with regard to the fundamental articles
of the Christian Faith ; and enables every man, yes, even
the simplest child and most unlettered peasant, to discrimi
nate truth from falsehood, and to understand the Bible
aright6 in those heavenly doctrines which are necessary to
everlasting salvation.
3 Eph. i. 23. Col. i. 18. « Matt. xvi. 18.
* 1 Tim. iii. 15.
6 " If we imagine that the Rulers of the Church altogether erred at
Nicsea, and persuaded Christendom to receive their error; and if
Christendom erred in receiving the Nicene Creed, how will the words of
9O Miscellanies.
Here also we have an answer to certain objections which
are sometimes made.
When you say that the Nicene Creed is a sure and cer
tain exposition of Holy Scripture in matters of Faith, and
that the Voice of Christ Himself speaks in the Church
declaring the true sense of Scripture in that Creed, do you
not, it is asked by some, ascribe Infallibility to the Nicene
Council, which promulgated that Creed ?
What shall we say here ? What is Infallibility ? What
does a person, or set of persons, mean, when he or they
claim to be infallible ?
They mean that they suppose themselves to be exempt
from the possibility of erring.
But we claim no such exemption for any person or set of
persons, in the world. No ; we protest against all such
assumptions of Infallibility. We know that persons, who
set up such a claim for themselves, are not infallible ; and
we are sure, that in setting up such a claim as that, they
err most grievously, and are guilty of a heinous sin.
We do not assert, that the Council of Nicaea could not have
erred. No one could have predicated a priori any such quality
concerning it. We could not predicate such a quality of
infallibility concerning any Council in the world. But what
we assert is, that the Nicene Creed having been grounded
on Holy Scripture, and having been promulgated, as it was,
as a declaration of primitive doctrine contained in Scripture,
and delivered through the Holy Apostles from Christ Him
self, came forth from that Council with strong presumptive
evidence of truth in its favour; and we affirm that this
presumptive evidence has now grown into demonstrative
proof, by the fact of the subsequent reception of that Creed
by the Church of Christ Universal, and by the maintenance
and preservation of that Creed, under God's Providence, in
Christendom, for fifteen hundred years, even to this day.7
We do not say of any Council that it might not have
our Lord stand good, Who promised to be always present with His
Apostles, and consequently with their successors, even to the end of the
world ? " Bp. Bull, Def. Fid. Nic. i. 2.
7 Even the long-continued contests of the Eastern and Western
Difference of Infallibility and Inerrancy. g i
erred ; but we affirm, that a Council has not erred in any
thing which it has so framed and promulgated, and which
has been received by the Universal Church. We do not
claim for it any a priori infallibility, but we do assert for
it an a posteriori inerrancy.
But it may be said, Do you not by this argument from
Catholicity, afford some countenance and encouragement to
dangerous errors, especially to those of the Church of Rome,
which have been very widely diffused, and which also lay
claim to Universality ?
No, assuredly not; on the contrary, we provide the
strongest safeguard against those errors.
The Church of Borne appeals to the Holy Bible in behalf
of some of her errors. For instance, her fundamental error
of all, the groundwork of her whole system, is based on her
own interpretation of our Lord's words, in St. Matthew's
Gospel, to St. Peter, " I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and
on this rock I will build My Church."8
How may we decide this question ? By reference to the
Bible ? But will she not set her own interpretation of the
Bible against ours ? Certainly she will. We must there
fore resort to facts. Let us try her doctrine by that very
test to which she herself appeals, namely, universality.
We can show that this interpretation of that text of the
Bible was not received by ancient Christendom ; that it is
a new interpretation, and is therefore false. And in like
manner we can show that her peculiar dogmas, which we
reject, have no such claims, as she pretends, to antiquity
and universality, and are therefore untrue. Those dogmas
may be widely spread at this time ; but that does not prove
them to be true. For we know from Holy Scripture that
errors will be spread far and wide. Tares will abound in
the Field of Christ's Church. But wide diffusion in later
ages, that is, in times subsequent to the Apostles, does not
Churches concerning the Filioque (on which see Bp. Pearson on the
Creed, Art. viii.), are proofs of the tenacity with which both cling to
the Creed ; and are striking proofs of the universal reverence in which
the Creed is held.
8 Matt. xvi. 18.
9 2 Miscellanies.
constitute universality. Universality, let us always bear
in mind, is not only a thing of place, but also of time. Let
Rome show, if she can, that her dogmas are Catholic in the
true sense of the term. Let her show that they are ancient;
that they are primitive j that they were taught by the
Apostles and by Christ. Let her show that the Apostolic
Churches agreed in them ; that they put them into their
Creeds and Confessions of Faith. Let her show that her
Trent Creed is like the Nicene Creed. She cannot do
this. We may therefore refute her dogmas with Christ's
words to the Pharisees, " From the beginning it was not so."51
We can point to the times when her errors first crept into
the Church. They are new, and therefore false. Her
peculiar dogmas are not Catholic truths. No ; they are
anti- catholic errors ; they are novel corruptions of the
ancient Catholic Faith.
Observe also, how, under God's controlling Providence,
the Church of Rome herself has been made to be a witness
to the Catholic Faith, at the same time that she convicts
herself of corrupting it by novelties and errors. She holds
in her hand the Nicene Creed ; and has held it ever since it
was framed. Thus, thanks be to God, she has done, and
still does, her part, in conjunction with other Churches of
Christendom, in maintaining the true ancient Catholic Faith,
which is contained in Holy Scripture, and is declared in that
Creed. She contributes a share to the universal agreement
of Christendom in that Faith.
Thus far she does well.1 But, alas ! she corrupts that
Faith. In the sixteenth century after Christ, at the Council
of Trent, she added twelve new articles to that ancient
Catholic Faith, and she imposes those new doctrines on the
consciences of all men, as far as she is able. And she then
openly avowed, that she did not rest on Holy Scripture
9 Matt. xix. 8.
1 So she does also in the Creeds which she uses in the administration
of the Sacraments. Rome does not use the Trent Creed, — but " the
Apostles Creed," — in administering Baptism ; and she has not ventured
to put the Trent Creed into the Mass ; but there she uses the Nicene
Creed. Two remarkable testimonies to the truth.
Rome is not Catholic. 93
alone as the foundation of faith. She put forth,2 as it were,
another Bible, her own unwritten Tradition, as of equal
authority with God's Written Word. And now in the
nineteenth century,3 she has recently added two other new
dogmas to the ancient Faith, She requires all men to believe,
as necessary to everlasting salvation, that the Blessed Virgin
Mary was free from original sin ; and that the Koman Pontiff,
when speaking ex cathedra is infallible in all his decrees
concerning faith aud morals. (July 18, 1870).
Again : we have here also an answer to those who profess
a pious zeal for the Sufficiency and Supremacy of Holy Scrip
ture, and for the perfection and clearness of the Bible, and
yet resent any restraint on their own interpretations of
Holy Scripture as an infringement on Christian Liberty ;
and who allege that an appeal to the Creeds and Confessions
of Faith publicly professed by the Church is a violation
of that Liberty, and a disparagement of the dignity of
Christ.
We also are zealous for the Sufficiency and Supremacy of
Scripture. Holy Scripture is our only Rule of Faith. To
it every doctrine must be conformed : by it every doc
trine must be tried. The Bible is our only Rule. But we
need guidance and assistance for the right application of
that Rule. And unhappily, there are persons, who wrest
the Rule aside by their perverse interpretations of the Bible,
and who would have us submit to their erroneous interpre
tations of Scripture ; and who impose those false interpre
tations as oracles of Divine Truth. Let us, therefore, thank
God, that He has given us help for the right interpretation
of the Bible, by the Presence and Spirit of Christ in the
Church, declaring the true sense of Scripture, in these
Confessions and Creeds. If then, we value the Rule, let
us be duly thankful for the means which God has given us
for its protection, and for its light application.
Holy Scripture is like a fair garden, in which are all fruits
and plants, that are healthful and refreshing to the soul.
But the garden needs a fence to protect it from those
2 In the Trent Council, Session iv. * Dec. 8, 1854.
94 Miscellanies.
invaders who would rudely spoil and ravage it. If we love
the garden, let us keep up the fence.
Again, it is true that Holy Scripture is perfect, and is
clear in necessary things. But it is also true that men are
very imperfect, and are often blinded by prejudice, passion,
or interest, or led astray by the arts of false Teachers, and
by the malice of the Tempter.
Let us, therefore, maintain our Creeds and Confessions of
Faith. They are safeguards which Christ Himself has given
us, for the preservation of this heavenly treasure. Let us
not sacrifice them to the wilful caprice of those, who, it is
to be feared, when they profess themselves zealous for the
supremacy and sufficiency of Holy Scripture, are in fact
zealous for the supremacy and sufficiency of their own pri
vate and erroneous interpretations of Scripture; and would
overthrow those safeguards, by which the true interpretation
of Scripture is preserved, and by which the supremacy and
sufficiency of Scripture are upheld.
But again, it may be said, Is not Christian Freedom
fettered by Creeds and Confessions of Faith ? No : not by
the Creeds and Confessions of Faith, which have been
received from Ancient Christendom. Holy Scripture is the
Word of Truth. The true sense of the Bible is the Bible :
a false interpretation of the Bible is not the Bible, but a
corruption of it. And, in the ancient Creeds of the Church
Universal, Jesus Christ, Who has promised to be present
with His Church, speaks to us by His Spirit, and declares
to us the true sense of the Bible.
Let us put it to reasonable men, whether a Chris
tian Congregation is more free, when it listens to the Truth
preached to it in accordance with the Ancient Creeds, or
when it is required to accept from a Preacher some novel
and private interpretation coined in the mint of his own
brain, and stamped with his own image and superscription,
and put forth in the name of Christ ? Is he not issuing
forged money, and requiring the people to accept his own
spurious and debased counterfeit, instead of sterling coin ?
Can a Christian Congregation be said to be/ree, when it is
duped by such imposture as that ? Is it not rather subject/
What is True Liberty ? 95
to the worst tyranny, and enslaved by the worst bondage,
the tyranny of a false teacher ? Is it to be patiently
endured, that they who preach to others should claim
dominion over their faith,* and lord it over God's heritage,6
and obtrude their own private notions on the consciences of
the People in the place of God's Word, and that they should
perpetrate this wrong in the sacred name of Liberty ? No,
rather, let us hold fast Christian Truth, as delivered to us
by Christ Himself, speaking to us in His Body, the Church
Universal; and then we may be assured that we shall enjoy
true Christian Liberty. For, as the Psalmist speaks, I will
walk at Liberty, because I seek Thy commandments,6 and as
Christ Himself says, the Truth will make you free.1
Thanks be to God, the Church of England maintains these
principles. She has placed the ancient Creeds of Christen
dom in her Liturgy ; and thus she has provided a salutary
check and guidance for her Ministers, and has afforded a
preservative to her People against corruptions of the Truth.
Thus she has protected them against encroachments on their
Christian liberty, and against usurpations of their Christian
rights and privileges, which might be menaced and invaded
by false Teachers who handle the Word of God deceitfully.8
She has provided for them the best Commentary on Holy
Scripture in matters of Christian doctrine. And in authori
tative decrees,9 published at her Reformation, she gave in
junctions to her Ministers, not to obtrude any doctrine on
her People that is not agreeable to Holy Scripture, and has
not been deduced from Scripture by primitive Fathers of
the Church.
But, it may be asked, do we not thus obstruct the course
of intellectual progress ?
Is then the Gospel a physical Science ? Is it like Botany,
* 2 Cor. i. 24. 5 1 Pet. v. 3.
6 Ps. cxix. 45. 7 John viii. 32.
8 2 Cor. iv. 2.
9 Canon of 1571, De Concionatoribus ; and see Eeformatio Legum,
" De Summa Trinitate," cap. 13 ; and cp. Bp. Andrewes' admirable
Sermon ii. on " Worshipping of Imaginations," vol. v. p. 57 ; and Dr.
Waterland's excellent Treatise, " On the Use and Value of Christian
Antiquity," Works, vol. v. p. 317, ed. Oxf. 1823.
9 5 Miscellanies.
Chemistry, or Geology ? Are Articles of Faith like human
inventions, which may be improved by ingenious devices
and clever experiments ? Are they like mechanism, which
may be taken to pieces, and altered, and rearranged by
human hands ? If they are, then there is good reason for
the question.
But if the Faith has been once for all delivered to the
Saints ; l if the Gospel, preached by Christ and His Apostles,
is the Everlasting Gospel ; 2 if it is more stable than the sun
and stars fixed by God in the sky, — if it is the unchangeable
Code, by which we shall be judged at the last day, — if any
man, or even an Angel from heaven, is to be anathema, if he
preaches to us anything besides that Gospel* — then let us
be content with that Gospel ; let us not look for new dis
coveries in the Christian Faith ; but let us seek to know it
better, and to grow in grace, and to advance in the practice
of those duties which that Faith enjoins. Then we shall
make true progress ; every day of our lives will bring us
nearer to heaven.4
1 Jude 3. 2 Rev. xiv. 6. s Gal. i. 8, 9.
4 This essential difference between Theology and Physical Science
has been very well stated by Pascal, Pensees, Premiere Partie, Art. i.
" In Theology, it is Authority which has the principal weight. In order
to produce entire conviction of the truth of doctrines incomprehensible
to Reason, it is sufficient to show that those Doctrines are contained in
Holy Scripture ; and in order to prove the uncertainty of things which
may seem most probable in Theology, it is sufficient to show that they
are not contained in Holy Scripture. Because the principles of Theo
logy are above Nature and Reason, and the intellect of man is too
feeble to attain to them by its own force, and cannot reach them, except
it is lifted up by an omnipotent and supernatural power. The case is
very different with things which are in the domain of the Senses and
of Human Reason. Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, Medicine, Architec
ture, and all experimental Sciences ought to be improved in order to
be perfected. Authority is useless there. The ancients received only
a faint sketch of them from their predecessors, and have handed them
down to us ; and we shall hand them down to others, and other genera
tions will hand them down to those who will follow after, in order
that these Sciences may receive fresh improvements in each succes
sive age.
" This essential difference between Theology and Physical Science may
well inspire us with sorrow for the blindness of some who apply Authority
alone to Natural Philosophy, instead of resorting to Reason and Experi-
Let us not separate Christ and the Church. 97
Let it not be alleged, that we thus elevate the Church, to
the disparagement of Christ Her Lord. No : we contend
for Christ's Universal Supremacy. We proclaim His per
petual presence, and continual operation in the Church.
And if we did not do this, we should be maiming His
dignity and mutilating His prerogatives. We should be
impugning His Truth, and disparaging His Love, and
charging Him with forgetfulness of His own promise, by
which He pledged Himself to be ever with His Church, Lo .'
I am with, you alway, even to the end of the world. We
should be degrading the Lord of all, Who is ever present
in His Church, and Who ever watches over her, and loves
her as His own Spouse, and governs her, and sanctifies her
by His Spirit. We should be misrepresenting Him, as if
He were like some Epicurean deity, not caring for sublunary
things.
But Christ is the Head, and the Church is His Body ;
and He animates the Body. Let us not separate the Head
from the Body. Let us cleave to the Body for the sake of the
Head. Let us hold fast to the Church for the sake of Christ,
Who speaks and works in her, according to His most true
promise, Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the
world.
Let us take warning from the calamities which have arisen
in Christendom from false principles with regard to the In
spiration, and to the Interpretation, of Holy Scripture.
In our inquiries concerning the proof of the Inspiration
of the Bible, we have seen the evils which have resulted
from the false theory of those who based their belief in the
Inspiration of the Bible on their own private consciousness,
or inward illumination. We have seen how this principle
has served the cause of Infidelity, and has led to the re
jection of the Bible.
ment. And it may also fill us with horror for the wickedness of others,
who employ Reason alone in Theology, instead of appealing to the
authority of Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church. Our duty
is to excite the courage of those timid spirits, who dare not find out any
thing in Physics, and to confound the insolence of those rash adventurers
who hroach novelties in Theology."
VOL. II. H
98 Miscellanies.
We have also seen, that the principle of private judgment,
adopted by some as sufficient for the right Interpretation of
the Bible, has been fraught with disastrous consequences
in the production of miserable strifes and endless divisions
in Christendom, and by the encouragement and aid it has
given to perversions of the sense of Holy Scripture, and to
the rejection of the Prophecies, the Miracles, and the
Doctrines of Revelation.
But, on the other hand, thanks be to God, we have
seen that there is a solid Foundation, there is an
immovable Eock on which we may here stand; and in
both cases it is the same Foundation, the same Rock, JESUS
CHRIST.
Let us thankfully admire the analogy which subsists
between the plan which God has been pleased to adopt for
assuring us of the Inspiration of the Bible, and the method
which He has employed and prescribed for guiding us to
its right Interpretation.
God the Father is the Everlasting Original, from Whom
all our blessings come, and they all come to us through
the Everlasting Son, by the Everlasting Spirit, the Holy
Ghost. Thus the Three Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity
co-operate in the bestowal of all good on our souls and
bodies.
Christ js the Eternal Word of the Father. And Christ
reveals the Will of the Father. He reveals it by the Holy
Ghost in the Book of Creation — in the Bible of Nature,
by His works. He reveals it by the Holy Ghost in the
Yolume of Scripture by His Word. And, as we have seen,
Christ, Who is the Everlasting Word, and Who took our
Nature and became the Incarnate Word, attests the Inspira
tion of the Written Word. In the days of His Flesh upon
earth He avouched the Inspiration of the Old Testament.
He subscribed it with His own sign manual, and sealed it
with His own seal, and delivered it as God's Word to the
Church, and by the Church to the World.
Christ, when He had ascended into heaven, sent down
the Holy Ghost to abide for ever in His Church Universal,
and He promised to be ever with her by the Holy Ghost,
Christ avouches and interprets the Bible. 99
Whom He sent to guide His Apostles into all truth, and to
teach them all things. He enabled them to write the New
Testament, and by the same Holy Ghost dwelling in the
Church Universal, and declaring the mind of Christ by its
common consent and practice, Christ Himself proclaims the
Inspiration of the New Testament.
Precisely the same method has been pursued by Almighty
God, for guiding us to the right Interpretation of the
Bible.
Christ, the Everlasting Word, is the Expounder of the
Written Word, As we have seen, He interpreted the Old
Testament, in person, when He was on earth. After His
Ascension He explained its meaning by His Spirit in His
Apostles. And when, after their departure, Heresies arose,
He declared the true meaning of Holy Scripture by Creeds
and Confessions of Faith, received by His Church Universal,
to which He has promised His presence even to the end of
the World.
Here, in fine, we may find peace among all the strifes and
contradictions of this world. Under the shadow of Thy
wings, 0 Lord, shall be my refuge;6 under the shadow of
Thy wings will I rejoice. How excellent is Thy mercy, 0
God ; the children of men shall put their trust under the
shadow of Thy wings ! They shall be satisfied with the
plenteousness of Thy House.6 O how plentiful is Thy
goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee,
and that Thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in
Thee, even before the sons of men ! Thou shalt hide them
privily by Thine own presence from the provoking of all
men ; Thou shalt keep them secretly in Thy Tabernacle from
the strife of tongues.
May He, of His infinite mercy, heal the breaches of
divided Christendom. May He pour out His Spirit upon
us, the Spirit of Love and Peace. May He persuade us all
to be less tenacious of private notions and personal interests,
and to be more zealous for the Truth, and for the general
good of all. May He bring the scattered members of His
5 Ps. xvii. 8; Ivii. 1; Ixiii. 8. 6 Fs. xxxvi. 7.
H 2
ioo Miscellanies.
family to dwell together in Unity. May He unite those
who are separated from us, at home ; and may He also
touch the hearts of many in foreign lands, and may we all
meet together as brethren on the common ground of Holy
Scripture, as interpreted by Christ Himself in the New
Testament and in the consent and practice of His Ancient
Catholic Church !
Let us recapitulate briefly what has been said.
Many, we have seen, receive the Bible as God's Word,
and yet teach erroneous and dangerous doctrines, with the
Bible in their hands. The Socinian appeals to the Bible in
support of his denial of Christ's Divinity. The Eomanist
pleads some texts in defence of his dogmas of Papal Su
premacy and Infallibility, and of Purgatory and Transubstan-
tiation, and of the Immaculate Conception. The Calviuist
and the Baptist say that the Bible is their own standard of
faith, and that they can read their own tenets there. And as
to Church discipline and Church government, there is
scarcely any form of Dissent which does not profess to
see its own opinions reflected in the glass of Holy Scrip
ture.
What then is to be done ?
We are, indeed, to search the Scriptures, and to
endeavour, to the best of our ability, to convince the gain-
sayers thereby ; but we must remember that the Bible itself
teaches us that God has not only given us the Bible as a
Rule, but has also given us the Universal Church to assist us
in the right application of the Rule. We must bear in mind
that in the Bible Christ has declared that He has founded in
the world His Church as a visible, permanent Society, and
has promised to give to her the Holy Spirit to abide with
her for ever;7 that He has promised to be with her alway,
even to the end of the world,8 and that the gates of hell
shall never prevail against her ; 9 and therefore St. Paul calls
the Universal Church "the pillar and ground of the
7 John xiv. 16. • Matt, xxviii. 20.
9 Matt. xvi. 18.
Recapitulation . i o i
truth," * and St. Jude exhorts us to " contend earnestly for
the faith once for all delivered to the saints."5
Consequently we are sure that whatever sense of Scripture
can be proved to have been received by the Church of Christ
Universal, is the true sense of Scripture ; and that whatever
has not been received by her as the sense of Scripture, is not
the true sense of Scripture; but is an utterance of erring
man, imputing his own imaginations to the Infallible
God.
This, as we have seen, is the ground on which we hold
the doctrines of the Nicene Creed, the Creed of Uni
versal Christendom — and reject everything that is repug
nant to it. That Creed is a sound exposition of the true
faith; it may be said to rest on the authority of Christ
Himself and of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in the Church
Universal.
What, then, is our answer to the Socinian, the Romanist,
the Calvinist, and the Baptist, in regard to the special
dogmas mentioned above as held by them ? We say to
them, Show to us, if you can, that your interpretation of
Scripture was propounded by the Universal Church of Christ
as a true exposition of Scripture, and was generally received
in ancient times as such, and then we shall be ready to
accept it — but not till then.
But if we are able, as we are, to point to the time when
those peculiar dogmas were first broached — some of them very
recently — (e. g. the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
and of Papal Infallibility) then we are sure that they are no
part of :( the faith once for all delivered to the saints," but
are corrupt adulterations of that faith which we are bound
to maintain.
Let us not separate the Bible from the Church, nor the
Church from the Bible. Let us not think to have a Church
without the Bible, or to have a Bible without the Church.
What God hath joined together let not man put asunder.
If we sever the one from the other, we shall lose both ; but
let us revere the Bible as the Word of God, and the Church
1 1 Tim. iii. 15. 2 Jude 3.
IO2 Miscellanies.
as the House of God ; let us recognize Christ speaking to
us in the Bible, and as delivering the Bible to us by the
Church, which is commissioned by Him to keep, guard and
interpret it to the world. Then we shall not be shaken or
unsettled; and we shall be enabled, by God's grace, to
establish others in the faith ; and shall rejoice together with
them in love, when faith shall be swallowed up in sight, and
hope in fruition, and God be all in all.
ON THE REVISION OF THE AUTHORIZED
VERSION.
WHAT has been now said concerning the Interpretation of
the Bible, implies as a postulate that due care should be taken
to secure the most accurate Text of the Bible, by means of
collation of MSS., and of ancient Versions, and of Greek and
Latin Fathers, and to obtain the most correct Translation of
it by grammatical and philological helps.
We may, therefore, be thankful that a design has now-
been undertaken by a body of learned men to revise the
English Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures, which was
published in the year 1611.
Here two things seem to be requisite.
First, that the best English Translation attainable from
the various critical helps available since that time, should be
provided ; due regard being had, in substance and language,
to our present admirable Authorized Version.
Secondly, that the sacred bond of unity should not be
broken, which connects almost the whole Anglo-Saxon race
in the use of one and the same Version of Holy Scripture.
It were much to be wished, that both these benefits could
be attained by one and the same publication.
But this is hardly practicable. When our Authorized
Version was framed in 1611, England had scarcely any
Colonies ; and the English Nation was almost coincident
with the English Church. When Englishmen emigrated to
foreign lands they carried with them the English Bible; which
is now diffused in all parts of the world ; being received by
English-speaking Nonconformist congregations in Great
Britain and in other lands, as well as by those congregations
which are in communion with the English Church.
This difference of circumstances ought to be carefully
borne in mind.
IO4 Miscellanies.
It might be possible for English and American Churchmen
and Scholars to revise aud improve the English Authorized
Version ; but it is doubtful whether the Version thus
revised by them, would be afterwards accepted as tlie
Authorized Version by English-speaking Christians of Pro
testant Societies in all parts of the world, instead of the
present Authorized Version. And if not, then the sacred
bond of unity, which now joins them together with us, would
be broken, and any advantages that might be reaped from
the revision would be too dearly bought by such a sacrifice.
On the whole, it may be submitted for consideration,
whether the best course at present would not be, to do two
things ;
First, to produce the best possible revision, not that it may
supplant the present Authorized Version, but that it may be
supplementary to it. Such a revision would be a manual of
great value to the Clergy and Laity for consultation, and
would possess a certain authority, and be a companion to
the Authorized Version.
And, secondly, it would be well that the margin of our
Authorized Version were enriched with additional alternative
renderings carefully considered, and that the officiating
Minister should be allowed to read in the public congrega
tion the marginal renderings, instead of the renderings
in the text ; if after careful critical study (which would be
encouraged by such a permission — a thing greatly to be
desired), he were satisfied that the marginal rendering were
preferable to that in the text. This was the usage of the
Hebrew Synagogue in its public reading of Holy Scripture,1
and was sanctioned by Christ Himself.
By such an arrangement as this, we should be ena
bled to preserve and augment the benefits we possess in our
Authorized Version, without endangering the inestimable
blessing we enjoy in that sacred symbol of unity, which
binds almost all the English world together in a bond of
1 In which the Keri, or reading in the margin, was substituted for the
Chetib, or that in the text, in the public reading of the Scriptures in the
S3'nagogues, in which our Blessed Lord and His Apostles took part. See
Vitringa de Sj-nagoga Vctere, p. 958, and Leusden. Theol. Heb. p. 272.
Proposed Revision of Authorized Version. 105
Truth and Love by the use of one and the same English
Bible.
One other consideration may be offered here. The pre
sent are critical times. Unbelief and Romanism are active
among us.
May it not be feared that alterations (such as we are led to
anticipate) in the Text of our Authorized Version would
strengthen the hands of Unbelievers and Romanists ?
Thfe Unbelievers would say to us : " You tell us that the
Bible is the Word of God : that it is true, and inspired, and
you require all men to receive it as such.
" But the Bible has now been altered by you in many hun
dred, perhaps many thousand, places ; and when some more
years are passed away, you may probably alter it again in
many more. How can the genuine unerring Word of
God be rightly altered by man ? Let us also ask this
question : Which of the two Bibles are we to receive ? that
which was authorized before your alterations of it, or that
which is authorized by you now ? "
Again, the Romanist may say to us : " You taunted us with
being enemies of the Bible because we warned our people
against your Bible. This was an unjust reproach. We did
not warn them against the Bible, but against your Transla
tion of it. And why ? because that Translation was inaccurate.
And now you confess that we were in the right. You your
selves acknowledge your Bible to be an erroneous one, for
you have now altered it in a very great number of passages;
which you never would have done, if you had believed it to be
correct."
We well know that such allegations as these ought not to
have any weight with wise and learned men. But the mis
fortune is, that the great majority of mankind are not wise
and learned; and that they would easily be swayed and led
away — and many of them be glad to be led away — by such
specious allegations as these. And our wisdom is to take
men as they are, and to make charitable allowances for their
weaknesses.
The Apostles and Evangelists were guided by the Holy
Ghost, and they acted on this principle. They had before
io6 Miscellanies.
their eyes the Septuagint, or Greek Version of the Old
Testament. That was " the Authorized Version " of the
Hellenistic Jews and of Eastern Gentile Christians.
The Septuagint is far inferior as a Version to our English
Authorized Version. The Apostles and Evangelists being
Jews, and being divinely inspired, might have made a far
better Version than the Septuagint. But they did not do so.
And why ? Because it was " the Authorized Version ;" and
they thought it better to leave it as it was, rather than to
disturb the faith of many multitudes of common people by
altering it. It is true that in quoting the Old Testament
they sometimes deviated from it; and thus they proved
themselves to be conscious of its defects. But they left it as
it was, and did not try to substitute another Version in its
place. May we not derive some instruction from their
example in this respect ?
ON THE REVISION OF NEW LECTIONARY.
IT is the office of the Church of God to guard and authen
ticate and preach God's Word, and she does this by the
public reading of Scripture, which (as Hooker has reminded
us) is the best preaching. For more than three centuries
after the Reformation it was the glory of the Church of
England, among the churches of Christendom, that not a
day passed but she read four chapters of Holy Scripture in
her public assemblies. But in a hurried session of the Con
vocation of Canterbury, on February 13th, 1872, it was
agreed that on almost all weekdays throughout the year
the officiating minister in a parish church might be at liberty
to omit one Lesson at Morning Prayer, and one at Evening
Prayer ; and this permission was afterwards authorized by
the Legislature,1 although, by the NEW LECTIONARY, sanc
tioned in the preceding year, 1871, the Scripture Lessons
had been much curtailed, so that, unless the Clergy decline
1 Act of Uniformity Amendment Act, 1872.
On the Revision of the New Lectionary. 107
to use this permission, the people are now to be content with
the stinted allowance of two short Lessons daily, whereas
formerly they had the benefit of four longer ones.
It is much to be wished, that no clergyman would avail
himself of this permission, but would read two Lessons at
Matins and Evensong. It was the heresy of the Manichgeans
and Marcionites to separate the Old Testament from the
New; but it was the practice of the Primitive Church to
read both Testaments together.2 If men disparage the Old
Testament, as compared with the New, or contrast one
Testament with the other, and weigh one against the other
in the opposite scales of human opinion, they will soon lose
both Testaments.
That we have gained much, by the New "TABLE OP
LESSONS" we must thankfully acknowledge; but that we
have also lost a great deal also we must no less sorrowfully
deplore. The use of the New Lectionary for some years has
discovered many blemishes and defects in it to all careful
students of Scripture.
By the New Lectionary we have lost about one hundred
and fifty chapters (viz. ninety-eight entire chapters and one
hundred and one portions of chapters) of the Old Testament
from our daily calendar. One-third of the Canonical
Scriptures of the Old Testament is now never read in our
Churches. And this loss is greater than it seems to be;
because in the Lessons read according to the New Lectionary
I have counted those which have been added to be read at a
third service on Sundays. Many persons attend the service
of the Church twice on Sundays; but few attend three
services on that day. The second and third services are
attended by different congregations.
The loss is also very serious in the New Testament.
According to the Old Lectionary the New Testament was
* Tertullian, Praescv. Haeret., c. 36 : " Legem efc Prophetas cum
Kvangelicis ct Apostolicis literis miscet." " In the ancient Church,"
says Bingham (Antiq. XIV. iii. 2), "there were always tivo Lessons
read at least, and sometimes three or four, and these partly out of the
Old Testament and partly out of the New. Only the Church of Eome
seems to have been a little singular in this matter."
1 08 Miscellanies.
read through (with the exception of the Apocalypse) three
times a year in our churches. By the New Lectionary it is
only read through twice; and on some occasions the New
Testament Lessons are very brief, consisting of only fourteen
or sixteen verses.
The shortening of the Lessons of the New Testament, in
the New Lectionary, is even more injurious than at first
sight it may appear, because it affects the Sunday services
of the Church.
Formerly, under the Old Lectionary, the congregations of
the Church of England were sure of hearing two whole
chapters (with very rare exceptions) of the New Testament,
on every Sunday in the year. But now they are reduced to
the comparatively poor pittance of two fragments, often very
small, of two chapters of the New Testament on the Lord's
Day. And this evil is the greater, because a large portion
of our population rarely goes to church except on a Sunday.
The loss therefore on the whole to our people is very great,
and urgently demands reparation.
I would therefore venture to offer the following sugges
tions : —
1. That, in the Sunday service, the officiating minister
should be allowed to read the entire chapter of the New
Testament from which the portion is taken which is pre
scribed by the New Lectionary.
2. That in the daily service he should be required to read
loth Lessons ; one from the Old, the other from the New
Testament.
3. That in order to provide for the reading of many im
portant portions of the Old Testament (which are now
omitted, and which ought to be read), the average length
of the Old Testament Lessons should be increased.
4. That Lessons should be provided for the Eves of the
greater festivals : e. g. Christmas Day, Epiphany, Ascension
Day, Whitsun Day, Trinity Sunday, as now for Easter Even.
5. That the officiating minister be alloived to read the
marginal rendering in lieu of that in the text, if after critical
study of the original Hebrew or Greek (which would be
encouraged by such a permission, and which is greatly
On the Revision of the New Lectionary. 109
needed) he were satisfied that the marginal reading is
preferable.
6. In the selection of Sunday Lessons care should be
taken that they should, as far as possible, harmonize with
one another and with the Gospel and Epistle. We had
formerly a beautiful specimen of this kind of spiritual
mosaic work on the eighth Sunday after Trinity, where the
example of the disobedient prophet (in 1 Kings xiii.) and of
the obedient prophet3 were brought by the Old Lectionary
into happy contrast with our Blessed Lord's words in the
Gospel,4 " Beware of false prophets," &c. This is now lost.
The Epistle and Gospel for the thirteenth Sunday after
Trinity harmonize with one another in showing the prepara
tory and inadequate character of the Levitical law,5 as com
pared with the permanence and sufficiency of Christianity,
the former being represented by the Priest and Levite, and
the latter by the Good Samaritan, the type of Christ.6 This
concord ought to be promoted by the appointment of suit
able Lessons, illustrating the same truth.
This may serve as a specimen to show that the construc
tion of a Lectionary is a work which demands great care
and skill.
7. Wherever it is found desirable to lengthen a Lesson in
either the Old or New Testament, a balance may be struck
in many instances by shortening the Lesson from the other
Testament in the same service, and conversely.
8. As already said, we now hear the New Testament
read only twice in the year, instead of three times, as formerly,
in our churches.
In forming the New Lectionary the design of the framers
has been that the New Testament should be read through
twice in the course of the year ; and that the Gospels should
be read in the mornings of one half the year, nearly, and in
the evenings of the other half.
This scheme of adjusting the Gospels to the Procrustean
bed of a half-year has led to an unmerciful dissection of
many of the most beautiful portions of Holy Writ.
3 1 Kings xxii. 4 St. Matt. vii. 15.
4 Gal. iii. 16—22. 6 St. Luke x. 23—38.
no Miscellanies.
In order to remedy this evil, and to recover a larger
supply of the New Testament, let me suggest, by way of
compensation, that what is now read in twelve months, should
be read in ten months. This could be easily effected by a
very moderate extension of the length of the New Testa
ment Lessons. And in the two months thus gained for the
reading of the New Testament, let ine further suggest that
the portion of the New Testament which is most intelligible
to our Congregations, and therefore most edifying, namely,
the four Gospels, or the greater part of them (some portions
of St. Mark, as being identical with portions of St. Matthew,
might be omitted), should be read both morning and evening
in those two months. This, I venture to think, would be a
simple process, and a considerable improvement of the New
Lectionary.7
A great benefit has been conferred on the Church by
recent Ecclesiastical Legislation, jn giving power to the
Ordinary to provide Special Psalms and Special Lessons for
Special Occasions, in addition to those already appointed in
the Book of Common Prayer.
This power was exercised in our Diocesan Synod at Lin
coln, in 18/1, as may be seen in the following TAB.LE : —
PROPER PSALMS AND PROPER LESSONS FOR
SPECIAL OCCASIONS,
AS PUT FQRTH BY THE ORDINARY, IN THE DIOCESAN SYNOD
If ELD AT LINCOLN, ON SEPTEMBER 20TH, 1871. 8
TABLE I.
PEOPEE PSALMS FOE SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
For Advent Sunday. — All, or any of the following may be used: —
Mattins— Psalm 18, 82, 96. | Evensong— Psalm 97, 98, 110, 143.
7 Many more suggestions for revision in detail may be seen in the
pamphlet entitled the " New Lectionary Examined, with Reasons for its
Amendment," by the Bishop of Lincoln, the Dean of Norwich, and the
Dean of Chichester. Rivingtons, 1877.
8 Some Proper Psalms, and some additional Proper Lessons, have been
put forth by the Ordinary since the Synod.
Tables of Proper Psalms and Lessons. \ 1 1
See also bolow, in Table II., Psalms tor the Third Service on Sundays
in Advent. These may be used also at Morning Prayer, or Evensong, on
those Sundays.
For the Festival of Circumcision, or Neiv Year's Day.
Mattins— Psalm 1, 20, 103. | Evensong— Psalm 40, 113, 144.
Any of these Psalms may be used on New Year's Eve, and Psalm 90.
For the Festival of the Epiphany.
Mattins— Psalm 2, 19, 29, 45. | Evensong— Psalm 72, 87, 96.
For the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Presentation
of Christ in the Temple.
Mattins— Psalm 15, 24, 40. | Evensong, Psalm 48, 131, 134.
For the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mattins— Psalm 8, 19, 89. | Evensong— Psalm 110, 131, 132, 138.
For Palm Sunday, or Sunday before Easter*
Any of the following may be used : —
Mattins— Psalm 5, 20, 21, 118. | Evensong— Psalm 40, 110, 112, 113,114.
For Thursday before Easter.
Mattins— Psalm 23, 26, 41. j Evensong— Psalm 42, 43, 116.
For Easter Even.
Mattins— Ps. 4, 16, 31, 49, 142. | Evensong— Psalm 17, 30, 76, 91.
For Monday after Easter *
Mattins— Psalm 54, 72, 81. | Evensong— Psalm 98, 99, 100.
For Tuesday after Easter*
Mattins— Psalm 103, 108, 111. | Evensong— Psalm 114, 115, 116, 117.
For Monday in Whitsun Week*
Mattins— Psalm 8, 19, 27, 29. | Evensong— Psalm 33, 46, 47, 48.
For Tuesday in Whitsun Week.*
Mattins— Psalm 65, 76, 77. j Evensong— Psalm 96, 97, 98, 103.
For Trinity Sunday.
Mattins— Psalm 8, 29, 33, 67. | Evensong— Psalm 93, 96, 97, 99.
For the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29.
Mattins— Psalm 8, 24, 34, 91. | Evensong— Psalm 97, 103, 48.
All Saints' Day, November 1.
Any of the following may be used : —
Mattins— Psalm 1, 11, 15, 16, 20, 30, 33, 34, 61, 79, 84.
Evensong— Psalm 92, 97, 112, 138, 141, 147, 148, 149.
On Days of Apostles and some other Festivals ;
When the Psalms in the Daily Order are less appropriate, any of the
following may be used, at the discretion of the Minister : —
Psalm 19, 34, 45, 46, 61, 64, 68, 75, 97, 98, 99, 110, 113, 116, 126.
For the Consecration of Churches; or Anniversaries of their Conse
cration, and for the Reopening of Churches after Restoration.
Any of the following may be used : —
Psalm 24, 27, 45, 46, 47, 48, 84, 87, 100, 118, 122, 132, 133, 134, 150.
* See Note 8 p. 110.
1 1 2 Miscellanies.
For the Consecration of Churchyards — Psalm 39, 90.
For Harvest Festivals — Any of the following may be used : —
Psalm 65, 67, 81, 103, 104, 126, 127, 128, 144, 145, 147.
For School Festivals— Psalm 8, 23, 34, 119 (v. 1 to 17), 148.
For Choral Festivals— Psalm 33, 47, 81, 92, 96, 98, 108, 142, 147, 150.
For Ember Days— Psalm 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134.
For Rogation Days— Psalm 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 103, 104, 126, 147.
For Missionary Services — Psalm 19, 72, 117. Also any of the Psalms
appointed above for the Festival of the Epiphany,
For Diocesan Synods, Visitations, or Ruridecanal Chapters —
Psalm 68, 84, 87, 122, 133.
For Annual Festivals of Benefit Societies — Psalm 112, 133, 145.
At Confirmation— Psalm 15,19,20,23, 24, 26, 27, 34, 84, 116, 119, 148.
TABLE II.
PSALMS WHICH MAY BE USED AT A THIED SEEVICE ON SUNDAYS
AND SOME HOLIDAYS.
T. Psalm 45, 46.
II. „ 9, 10, 11.
Sundays in Advent,
III. Psalm 49, 50.
IV. „ 96, 97, 98.
Christmas Day — Psalm 2, 8, 84.
Sundays after Christmas — Psalm 87, 96, 98.
Sundays after Epiphany,
I. Psalm 46, 47, 48.
II. „ 65, 66, 67.
III. „ 83, 84, 85.
IV. Psalm 91, 92, 93.
V. „ 95, 96, 97.
VI. „ 98, 99, 100.
Septuagesima — Psalm 104.
Sexagesima — Psalm 49, 90.
Quinquagesima — Psalm 28, 77.
Sundays in Lent,
I. Psalm 6, 25, 32.
II. „ 38, 51.
HI. 102, 130.
IV. Psalm 141, 142, 143.
V. „ 22.
VI. „ 40, 45.
Easter Day— Psalm 3, 30, 76, 93.
Sundays after Easter,
I. Psalm 117, 118.
II. 19, 20, 21.
IV. Psalm 111, 112, 113.
V. „ 80, 81.
III. „ 98, 99, 100.
Ascension Day — Psalm 2, 57, 110.
Sunday after Ascension — Psalm 93, 132.
Whitsun-Day— Psalm 84, 85, 133.
Trinity Sunday— Psalm 33, 97, or 148, 149, 150.
Proper Lessons for Special Occasions. 1 1
Sundays after Trinity.
I.
Psalm 1, 2, 3.
XV.
Psalm 79, 80, 81.
II.
„ 4, 6, 7.
XVI.
• „ 82, 83, 84.
III.
„ 11, 12, 13, 14.
XVII.
„ 92, 93, 94.
IV.
„ 25, 26.
XVIII.
„ 105.
V.
„ 33, 34.
XIX.
„ 107.
VI.
„ 37.
XX.
„ 109.
VII.
„ 44.
XXI.
„ 114, 115, 116.
VIII.
„ 52, 53, 54.
XXII.
„ 120, 121, 123, 124.
IX.
„ 56, 57, 58.
XXIII.
„ 125, 126, 127, 128,
X.
„ 59, 60, 61.
129.
XI.
„ 62, 63, 64.
XXIV.
„ 133, 134, 135.
XII.
„ 71.
XXV.
„ 136, 137.
XIII.
„ 73.
XXVI.
„ 144, 145.
XIV.
„ 74, 75.
XXVII.
„ 146, 147.
TABLE III.
PEOPEE LESSONS FOE SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
For Consecration of Churches.
First Lesson — 1 Chron. xxix., or 1 Kings viii. 22 to 62. Second Lesson —
Heb. x. 19 to 26, or Mark vi. 11.
For Reopening of Churches after Restoration.
First Lesson — 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8 to 29, or Ezra iii., or Isa. Iviii., or
Haggai ii. Second Lesson — Luke ii. 25 to 39, xix. 37 ; John ii. 13 ;
Eph. ii., or Kev. xxi.
For the Consecration of Churchyards.
First Lesson — Gen. xxiii., or Job xix., or Isaiah xxvi. Second Lesson —
John v. 21 to end, or 1 Cor. xv. 35 ; 2 Cor. iv. 8, to 2 Cor. v. 11 ;
1 Thess. iv. 13 ; Kev. xx.
For Rogation Days.
First Lesson — Deut. viii., xxviii. 1 to 15 ; 1 Kings viii. 22 to 53 ; Prov.
iii. ; Joel ii. 15. Second Lesson — Matt, vi 24, vii. 1 to 13 ;
Luke xviii. 1 to 15 ; 2 Cor. v. to v. 10 ; James v. 7 to 19.
For Thanksgiving after Harvest.
First Lesson — Deut. viii. 7 to end, xxvi. 1 to 12, xxviii. 1 to 15, or Deut.
xxxii. 7 to 20, xxxiii. 7 ; Cant. ii. 8 ; or Isaiah xxviii. 23 ; Hos.
ii. 14. Second Lesson — Matt. vii. 1 to 13, xiii. 24 to 31 ; John iv.
31 to 39, vi. 26 to 36, 2 Cor. ix. 6 ; James v. 7 to 19 ; Kev. xiv. 14
to 19.
For Missionary Services.
First Lesson — Isa. xlix. or Isa. Ix., Ixi., Ixiii., Ixvi. 5, or Zeph. iii., or
Zech. viii. 20 to end of chap. ix. Second Lesson — Eph. iii., Rev. v.
or Rev. xiv.
For Benefit Societies.
First Lesson — Deut. xxviii. to v. 15. Second Lesson — Rom. xiii.
VOL. II. I
Ti4 Miscellanies.
For School Festivals.
First Lesson — Job xxviii., Prov. iii. or iv., or Eccles. xii. Second Lesson —
Luke ii. 40 to end ; or Eph. v. 15 to vi. 21, or 2 Tim. iii.
For Visitations, Synods, Ruridecanal Chapters.
First Lesson — Isa. Ixi., Ezek. iii. 10, or xxxiv. 7 ; Zech. ix. 9 to end of
chap. x. ; Mai. ii. iii. and iv. Second Lesson — Acts xx. 17, or John
x. 1 to 17, xx. 19 to 24, xxi. 15 to 23, or ] Cor. iii.; 2 Cor. iv.
or vi. ; Eph. iv. 1 to 17 ; 2 Tim. i.,or ii., or iii., or iv., to 19 ; 1 Pet.
iv. 7 to 1 Pet. v. 12, or Rev. ii. or iii.
For Choral Festivals.
First Lesson — 1 Chron. xvi. or part of it, 2 Ghron. xxix. 20. Second
Lesson — Eph. v. to v. 22, or Col. iii. to v. 18.
HOW THE BIBLE IS TO BE TAUGHT.
THE question, "How the Bibje is to be taught ?" especially
in Church Schools, is considered in the following Letter to
the Diocesan Inspector-in-Chief of Church Schools in the
County of Nottingham, in the Diocese of Lincoln, and to
the other Inspectors in the Diocese.
MY DEAR SIE,
1 have to thank you for your letter in which you
request my opinion on a Syllabus of subjects for religious
inspection in Church schools.
In consequence of recent legislation, the entire respon
sibility of Jnspectjon jn religious knowledge in Church
schools now rests on the Diopesan Inspectors ; and there
fore this gutjjept has assumed an importance which it is
hardly ppssible for us to overrate, The future condition of
our parishes will depend in a great measure on our adoption
and maintenance of sound principles, and of a right method,
in the religious teaching and inspection of our Church
schools.
Some specimens of a Syllabus of subjects for religious
inspection in Church schools have been communicated to
me ; and I trust I shall not be charged with presumption
when I venture to inquire whether the principles and method
set forth in those specimens are well grounded, and whether
How the Bible is to be taught. 1 1 5
they may not perhaps be found to be theologically erro
neous ?
I observe that those specimens begin with the Old Testa
ment as the foundation of teaching, and as the first subject
for religious inspection.
I conceive this to be a questionable arrangement. I be
lieve it to be a deviation from the received usage of the
ancient Church universal ; and to be a contravention of the
authoritative declaration of the Church of England.
The ancient Church began with laying the foundation of
religious teaching "in the principles of the doctrine of
Christ" (Heb,. vi. 1). " Other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. iii. 11).
It remembered His divine words — "I am the Way, the
Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but
by Me " (John xiv. 6) . "I am the Door '* (John x. 9) . "I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the
first and the last, saith the Lord " (Rev. i. 8 ; xxi. 6 ; xxii.
13). He is "the Author and Finisher of our faith" (Heb.
xii. 2). The Qld Testainen,t could mal?e a child "wise unto
salvation " before the New was written, but it was only
" through faith which is in Christ Jesus " (2 Tim. iii.
15).
I need not remind you, my dear Sir, that specimens of
this method of religious teaching may be seen in the works
of ancient Fathers of the Church ; for example, in the
catechetical discourses of S. Cyril of Jerusalem, and in the
addresses of S. Augustine to Catechumens (vol. vi. 918, ed.
Benedict., Paris, 1837), and his sermons at the delivery of
the Creed (vol. v. 1361— 1383), and in his work, " De Fide
et Symbolo " (vol. vi. 262), and in other books of that great
doctor of the Church, particularly " De catechizandis rudi-
bus " (vol. v. 451), and " De Doctrina Christiana '' (vol. iii.
19 — 151), and in his " Treatises against the Manichaeans "
(vol. viii.).
Our own Church has clearly expressed her mind on this
matter. At every public baptism she says to the sponsors,
" Ye are to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop
to be confirmed by him, so soon as he cangS.iy the Creed, the
i 2
1 1 6 Miscellanies.
Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and be further
instructed in the Church Catechism."
The arrangement of these words, " the Creed, the Lord's
Prayer, the Ten Commandments," as well as the words them
selves, deserve careful attention. The reasons of that order
and method seem to be as follows : — No child can read the
Old Testament with that spiritual benefit which ought to be
derived from it unless he has been first taught to believe in
JESUS CHRIST, Very God and Very Man; in a word, unless
he has first been duly catechized in the doctrine of Christ's
Godhead and Manhood, and in His working in nature and
providence, as well as in the world of grace. How can a
Christian teacher rightly speak to a child concerning the
history of Creation in the first verse of Genesis without
having spoken to him of Christ, "by Whom all things
were made, and without Whom was not anything made
that was made"? (John i. 3; Col. i. 16; Heb. i. 2).
How can he speak of Adam, by whom Death came into
the world, without telling him of the Second Adam, from
whom we receive Life Eternal ? How can he speak of
the promised Seed of the woman, Who was to bruise the
serpent's head (Gen. iii. 15), unless he has taught him to
see Christ, Very Man of the substance of the Virgin Mary
His mother, " destroying by death him that had the power
of it — that is, the devil ; and delivering them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage"?
(Heb. ii. 15.) How, again, can the Christian teacher speak
of the Flood without reference to Christian Baptism;
(I Peter iii. 21), or of Isaac on Moriah without directing
the eyes of his scholars to Christ on Calvary ? How can
he speak of the Passover in Egypt, and of the history of
the Exodus, and the passage of the Bed Sea, and the
smitten rock, and the manna in the wilderness, and the
brazen serpent healing the wounded Israelites, without
speaking of Christ, in Whom all these are fulfilled ? (1 Cor.
v. 7 ; x. 2—11. John iii. 14 ; vi. 81, 35, 51, 58.)
But this is not all. Very much of the unhappy scepticism
of the present day, with regard to the Old Testament, is to
be ascribed to the popular delusion of considering it as " a
True method of teaching the Bible. 117
common book/' and of separating it from the New Testa
ment. The ignorance and arrogance of the Marcionites and
Manichaeans of old have been reproduced by many at the
present day, who imagine that they are enlightening the
world with new discoveries, while they are only bringing
back the darkness of exploded fallacies and superannuated
heresies.
There is reason to believe that the Old Testament will be
the battle-field of Christianity. If the Church of Christ
has skill and courage to fight that battle well, she will win
glorious victories there ; but if she mismanages the cam
paign, she will sustain an ignominious defeat, and imperil
the foundations of belief not only in the Old Testament, but
in the New, and therefore in Christianity itself.
What, then, should our method be ?
" Jesus Christ is over all, God blessed for ever " (Rom. ix.
5). He is from everlasting. Christ was before Moses, and
He sent Moses. He sent all the Prophets ; as the Apostle
says, "the Spirit of Christ was in them" (1 Peter i. 11) ;
and not only did Christ send Moses and all the Prophets,
but He inspired them to prepare His way, and to prophesy
concerning Himself. " To Him give all the Prophets wit
ness" (Acts x. 43). And when in the fulness of time He,
who is God from everlasting, became Man for our sakes,
He acknowledged the work which He Himself had already
done by means of the writers of the Old Testament. He,
Who, when present on earth, asserted His own Godhead,
and Who proved the truth of His sayings by His miracles
and prophecies, and by reading men's hearts, avouched the
Books of Moses and the Prophets as true, and as divinely
inspired. He fulfilled and interpreted them ; and He gave
the HOLY SPIRIT to His Apostles, to enable them to under
stand and expound them, and to take the veil from the
hearts of the Jewish readers of the Old Testament, " which
veil is done away in Christ " (2 Cor. iii. 14), and to show
to them Christ, prefigured in its historical types (1 Cor. x.
2 — 11) and ritual sacrifices, and other ceremonies of the
Levitical law, which were " shadows of the good things to
come," and of which He is the body and substance (Col. ii.
1 1 8 Miscellanies.
17; Heb. x. 1); and to display Him as preannounced in
the prophecies of the Old Testament from the beginning of
Genesis to the end of Malachi.
Let me here borrow the words of St. Augustine (" De
Civ. Dei," xi. 2)—" Christ, Who is the Truth, He Who is
God, and the Son of God, took our nature, and became the
' Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus *
(1 Tim. ii. 5). Before His Incarnation He spake by the
Prophets; and after it, He spake by Himself and by His
holy Apostles ; and thus He completed the Holy Scriptures,
on which we build our faith with regard to those truths of
which it behoves us not to be ignorant, and which we could
never know by ourselves." And again, he says (De cate-
chizandis rudibus, § 6 — 8), " Our Lord Jesus Christ, before
He appeared in the flesh, sent forth a portion of His own
mystical body the Church, in the holy Patriarchs and
Prophets, by whom He foretold His own Incarnation. All
the Scriptures of the Old Testament were written with a
view to His Coming into the world. In the Old Testament
the New is concealed. In the New Testament the Old is
revealed. Both Testaments agree in teaching the law of
Love to God and to man in God ; which law is perfected in
Christ, who is God and man, and on which ' hang all the
law and the Prophets '" (Matt. xxii. 40). And again: "Our
only way to God is Christ. He is the Way by which we
must walk ; He is the Truth, to which we must strive to
attain ; He is the Life, in which we hope for ever to abide "
(De Doctrina Christiana, i. 35).
The Church of Christ teaches her children to behold and
worship Christ, Who is the Eternal Word, and Who became
the Incarnate Word, delivering to them the Old Testament,
which is God's written Word; and she instructs them to
read the Old Testament by the light of the New Testament,
which reveals the countenance of Christ.
Let us train our children to regard the Old Testament
with reverence ; to take good heed that they never treat it
as a common book. Let us raise our minds to heaven, and
endeavour to lift up theirs ; so that they may learn to see
the Old Testament in the hand of Christ enthroned in glory,
Syllabus of Scriptural teaching. 1 1 9
Very God and Very Man, King of kings, Lord of lords, and
the future Judge of quick and dead. Let us meekly receive
the Old Testament from Him, and let us kneel down with
our children before Him, and pray to Him to give us the
Holy Spirit to enable us to see Him: in it; and to revere it
as the Very Word of God, avouched by the Divine Authority
and sealed with the Divine seal of His own beloved Son.
If the principles which have now been set forth, and the
method which has now been traced out, commend them
selves to your judgment, may I request you and the other
Diocesan Inspectors of Church schools to let me have the
benefit of your help and theirs in embodying them in a
Syllabus of subjects for religious teaching and inspection in
the Church schools in this diocese ?
I am, my dear Sir, yours sincerely,
C. LINCOLN.
This letter was followed by the draft of a SYLLABUS of a
Course of Scriptural teaching, which was put forth by me
merely as suggestive ; the parochial clergy being recognized
as having the responsibility of conducting, superintending,
and directing the religious teaching in their parochial
schools.
The Six Steps in this Syllabus correspond to the Six
Standards in the Be vised Code, Sect. 28. In practice it
may be sometimes necessary to group the children of two
consecutive Steps together in one, e, g. Steps I. and II.
may be combined.
STEP I. The Belief, and Lord's Prayer, taught orally ;
some very simple Hymns, and Prayers.
STEP II. The Catechism (The Belief, Lord's Prayer, and
Ten Commandments) ; some knowledge of the Creation
and Fall of Man (Gen. i., ii., iii.), and of the Birth,
Infancy, Miracles, Death, Resurrection and Ascension
of our Blessed Lord. The' Institution of the lord's
Day : why to be kept holy, and how1 ? Hymns ; Private
Prayers, especially Collects ; and Texts of Scripture.
STEP III. The Catechism, as before, to the end of the
Lord's Prayer ; explanation of the first three questions
1 20 Miscellanies.
in the Catechism with Scripture references ; ability to
write from memory the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten
Commandments (to be explained from our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount) ; the Baptismal Covenant : its
privileges and obligations ; the principal events in the
Book of Genesis, and in the life of our Blessed Lord on
earth ; the typical and prophetical relation of the former
to the latter. Hymns, Private Prayers, and Collects;
Texts of Scripture learnt by heart.
STEP IV. The whole of the Catechism known by heart;
its explanation to be written from Scripture. The
principal events in the Five Books of Moses, and in the
Book of Joshua ; their typical and prophetical meaning
in reference to Christ and His Church.9 Our Blessed
Lord's Life on earth, Teaching, Miracles, Parables ;
Hymns and Proper Psalms for the principal Christian
Seasons; Private Prayers; Collects from the Prayer
Book ; Texts of Scripture.
STEP V. The Catechism, as before; to be explained and
confirmed by Texts of Holy Scripture. The Old Testa-
ment History to the end of the First Book of Samuel ;
its typical and prophetical relation to our Blessed Lord.
The New Testament History to the Day of Pentecost.
Meaning of the Christian Seasons; their relation to
the corresponding Hebrew Festivals. Explanation of
the Prayer Book, especially the Services for Morning
and Evening Prayer, and of the Office for Holy Baptism
and Confirmation ; Texts of Scripture.
STEP VI. The Catechism, as before, with Scripture re
ferences. The Old Testament History; its principal
events ; its relation, in types and prophecies, to Christ.
The Gospels, and Acts of the Apostles. Explanation
of the Office for Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Com
munion. Fuller knowledge of the meaning of the
Christian Seasons, the Collects for them, known by
9 The typical teaching throughout is to be grounded on the authority
of the New Testament, of the Church Catholic, and of the Book of
Common Prayer.
Uses of set forms of Prayer. 1 2 1
heart; the lives of the Apostles aud Evangelists.
Texts of Scripture ; Hymns, Private Prayers, Collects.
THE BOOK OP COMMON PEAYER.
FROM Christian Doctrine we may pass on to Christian
Worship ; from the Bible we may proceed to the Book of
Common Prayer.
The first thing we may observe with regard to the Book
of Common Prayer is, — that it is a set form of words, and is
prescribed for general use in all churches.
As to this point, it is sometimes asked, — Would it not be
better that we should enjoy greater liberty, and that the
ordering of public Prayer should be left to the discretion of
the minister ? Are not set forms of Prayer a hindrance to
devotion ? Is not the presence of the Holy Spirit vouch
safed in richer abundance to those congregations where the
utterance of prayer and praise is the extemporaneous effusion
of the heart of the minister, or of other members of the
Church ?
Let us consider this question.
The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth, order, and peace ;
and whatever is repugnant to truth, order, and peace, is not
the work of the Holy Ghost.
Suppose now a large body of men, such as the ministers
of a Church, who may be some thousands in number, and of
very different gifts and attainments ; suppose also that they
are left to follow their own devices, and to vent in public
prayer whatever suggests itself to their minds. Is it not
certain, that in such a case as that, a great deal that is
erroneous, or at least questionable, in doctrine, and familiar,
if not irreverent, in language, will find its utterance in the
public congregation ? And thus the People would be left
to the mercy of the Minister, and be made the victims of his
ignorance, incapacity, or presumption. Under the pretence
of liberty they would be made the slaves of his arbitrary
caprice, and would be enthralled in the bondage of his
122 Miscellanies.
undigested utterances in extemporaneous prayer. And is
not the matter made much worse, when this is ascribed to
the Holy Ghost? Is the Holy Spirit the author of con
fusion ? Is He a builder of Babel ? Surely it is difficult to
find language strong enough to characterize the profaneness
of those who have not scrupled to impute their own errors
to the Holy Ghost, and to ascribe their own absurdity, im
pertinence, and fanaticism to the Spirit of truth, order, and
peace.1
On the other hand, we may observe, that wherever there
is a sound and Scriptural Liturgy, composed by pious and
grave persons who have prayed for the aid of the Holy
Ghost, Who loves to dwell in the society of the faithful
joined together for a holy work, there the devout worshipper
has the best assurance of the Holy Spirit's presence and
blessing. The worshipper knows beforehand what the
prayers are, in which he will be invited to join; and he
cannot be entrapped unawares into anything to which he
could not give a hearty assent ; he knows the conditions of
communion to which he will be subject in public worship.
The public worship of Almighty God is the holiest act in
which a society of men can be engaged. It displays the
Church of God joined together under one Divine Head,
Jesus Christ, Who presents to His Father in heaven the
prayers and supplications which are offered by His Church
upon earth. It reflects, as in a mirror, the life of angels,
and prepares us here on earth for everlasting joys here
after in heaven.
Anything, therefore, which sullies the sanctity, or mars
the unity, of public worship, is inconsistent with the
principles on which the Church is founded, and is at variance
with its highest functions and noblest privileges, and must
be displeasing to its Divine Head, Jesus Christ, and to the
Holy Spirit Who dwells in the Church as in a living
Temple ; and must be offensive to the awful majesty of God,
Who is the object of all her adoration ; and Who says in
1 Cp. Hooker, V. xxv. 3. Bp. Bull, Serm. xiii. Bp. Taylor on Set
Forms of Prayer, vol. vii. p. 285 — 390, ed. Heber, Lond. 1828.
Evils of extemporaneous public prayer. \ 2 3
His Holy Word, " Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not
thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God." ;
Again ; the offering of Prayer in a Church is the act of the
whole congregation : it is therefore called Public Prayer, and
Common Prayer. And in order that we may pray aright, it
is necessary that our hearts and minds should go along with
the prayers that are uttered. And therefore St. Paul says,
speaking of Public Prayer, " I will pray with the spirit, and
I will pray with the understanding also." 3
But suppose a minister arises and delivers an extemporaneous
effusion : this is his own act : the congregation does not
know beforehand what he is going to say ; and after he has
said it, their minds will be engaged in considering what he
has said ; their hearts do not go along with his heart, nor
their spirits with his spirit : if we may so speak, their minds do
not float down gently and easily with his mind on a smoothly-
flowing stream of Prayer, but they are engaged in fathoming
its depths, or are run aground on its shallows ; or they are
whirled round and round in .its eddies, or are tossed about
by its foam and restlessness. Such Prayer as this is not
public prayer, it is almost like prayer in an unknown tongue,
where the spirit of the individual prayeth, but his under
standing is unfruitful to others,4 and they who hear such
prayers as those cannot say heartily Amen to them.
And here an inestimable benefit of sound set forms of
Prayer may be noticed.
By their means a goodly number of holy prayers are stored
up in our memories, and occur to us readily whenever we
most need them. For example, the sailor in the storm, or
on the wreck, and the soldier on the eve of the fight, or lying
wounded on the battle-field, has a collect or a psalm gushing
up spontaneously in his mind, — if he has been a faithful
attendant at the public service of the Church, — and it minis
ters comfort and refreshment to him, as in a weary and dry
land, in the hour of danger or of death. And every Minister
of the Gospel who has knelt at sick-beds and death-beds knows
how readily the languid spirit of the sick and the dying
2 Eccles. v. 2. 3 1 Cor. xiv. 15.
4 1 Cor. xiv. 14.
1 24 Miscellanies.
Christian catches fire at the holy sound of the Church's
prayers, and how devoutly with their last breath trembling
on their lips, they will join in those beloved prayers, with
which they have been familiar from childhood.
But none of these blessed fruits can be produced by
extemporaneous prayers.
Let us consider also the effect of set forms of prayer as
contrasted with extemporaneous effusions, in another respect.
One of the blessed results of a sound and sober Liturgy; —
such as we do not hesitate to call the English BOOK OP COM
MON PEAYEB, — is this; that it is not merely a Manual of
devotion, but it is also a Rule of doctrine.
If a Minister is left to himself— such is our human infir
mity — it is almost certain, that he will exalt one article of
Christian Doctrine, or one act of Worship, to the depression
of others equally important ; and thus his teaching becomes
partial and exclusive ; and if he is his own master, there is
no corrective of its partiality and exclusiveness. He will
perhaps exalt Faith to the depreciation of Works, or dwell
on Works to the neglect of Faith. He will say much of
human Freewill, and little of Divine Grace ; or vice versa.
He will magnify Preaching to the disparagement of Praying,
or disparage Preaching in order to magnify Prayer. He
will exalt Sacraments at the expense of Sermons, or set up
Sermons above Sacraments. His ministry will be one-sided;
and the minds of his hearers will be biassed and warped by
his prejudices and prepossessions.
But a sound scriptural Liturgy affords a remedy for these
evils. It sets before both Clergy and People what St. Paul
calls the propprtion of faith 6 in all its fulness and symmetry.
It is, therefore, the best safeguard of orthodoxy and antidote
against heresy. A sound Liturgy is a sacred anchor which
moors the Church in the peaceful harbour of Catholic Truth.
It has a salutary effect on tfye minds of Minister and People.
It is a standard of teaching for the one, and a touchstone of
hearing for the o£her. It supplies what is wanting, and it
corrects what js wrong, jn the teaching of the Clergy. — And,
therefore, wherever a Church possesses such a Liturgy, the
5 Rom. xii. 6,
The Prayer Book an Anchor of doctrine. 125
risk of false teaching is less, and the injury resulting from
i'alse teaching is less also. Wherever a Christian Church
has cast off its Liturgy, it has almost always lapsed into
heresy, and has eventually drifted into indifference and
unbelief. But wherever there is a sound Liturgy, in the
mother-tongue of the people, there sound doctrine is
guarded, and virtuous practice is confirmed.
A sound Liturgy has also a restorative efficacy. When a
Church is infected with the poison of Heresy, a sound Liturgy
will enable it to eject the poison from its veins, and to
recover its spiritual health. The Baptismal Office in our
Prayer Book saved us recently under God from a heresy
concerning the Sacrament of Baptism. The Marriage Ser
vice in our Prayer Book may also rescue us, if duly valued
and rightly used, from the fearful evils with which we are
now threatened, consequent on laxity of legislation with
regard to Holy Matrimony, and on the terrible facilities
recently given to Divorce. And therefore to every Church
which has a soundand Scriptural Liturgy the precept of St.
Paul may be addressed, That good thing which was com
mitted unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in
thee (2 Tim. i. 14).
The sound scriptural Liturgy of one Church has also a
restorative effect upon other Churches. Next to the Holy
Bible there is no single Book in the world which is likely to
exercise, and is even now exercising, such a salutary influence
on the continental Churches of Italy and France at the
present day, as the English Book of Common Prayer. It
shows to them what we believe, and teach, and do ; and
though as to its exact forms we should be far from prescribing
them to other Churches, yet as to its principles and essence
(because these are Scriptural and Catholic) it affords a com
mon ground of union in which we may join with all who
would worship God in spirit and in truth.
Let us consider also this subject historically. They who
allege that the Holy Spirit works most effectually by means
of extemporaneous effusions, and not by what is committed to
•writing, may be requested to examine the words which indi
cate the instruments by which the Holy Ghost reveals God's
1 26 Miscellanies.
will. Take, for example, the word Bible: what does it
mean ? It signifies Book ; and the Bible means the Book,
the Book of books. And why ? Because the Holy Ghost
specially speaks to us by that Book ; and whenever we hear
the Bible read, we hear the Holy Spirit's voice.
Take, again, the word Scripture ; what does it mean ?
Something written. And the Scripture means that writing
which is distinguished from all other writings, namely, that
holy writing which was penned by the finger of God.
Therefore, Will any one venture to say, that the Holy Spirit
did not speak by the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists,
when they took pen and paper into their hands ? What
does St. Paul mean when he says " that all Scripture," that
is, all the Word written, " is given by Inspiration, of God " ? 6
Did not Moses write his Song at God's express command ? 7
Did not David command his Psalms to be written ? Did not
Christ command St. John to write the glorious visions which
he was permitted to see in the Apocalypse ? " What thou
seest, write in a book." s " Unto the Angel of the Church of
Ephesus write" and so seven times Christ repeats the com
mand, " To the Angel " of each of the, Churches "write"
This may suffice to show that the instrument., which the
Holy Ghost has specially chosen for the revelation of God's
will to the world, is writing. And with regard to Public
Prayer, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the
Church, He has ever loved to utter that voice by set forms
of Prayer. Almighty God was pleased to prescribe the very
words 9 which the Priest^ of the Levitical dispensation
were to use in blessing His people. The Psalms were the
prayers and songs of the Hebrew Church in the public wor
ship of God. And after the Babylonish captivity, and the
return of the Jews to their own country, when Synagogues
arose in every part of the Holy Land, a set form of prayer
was prescribed to be used in all those sacred buildings, and
a fixed Calendar of lessons of Holy Scripture was framed.1
And it is well worthy of remark, that our Blessed Lord
6 2 Tim. iii. 16. 7 Deut. xxxi. 19.
8 Rev. i. 11. • Num. vi. 23.
1 See Dean Prideaux's Connexion, Part i. Book 6.
Practice of Christ ; and tks Church — Oiir Liturgy. \ 2 7
vouchsafed to sanction that set form, of worship by His own
regular attendance at the synagogue (Luke iv. 16) and by
taking part in its ritual in His own person. Our Lord used
the Psalms as His own Book of devotions. He sang an
anthem from the Psalms at the last Passover. He uttered
the words of a Psalm on the Cross. And He gave further
approval to set forms of supplication by delivering to His
Disciples a Prayer framed by Himself, which was to remain
for ever a part of the Liturgy of the Church, and also might
serve as a pattern whereby all other prayers are to be framed
— the Lord's Prayer.
Accordingly we find that the Christian Church from the
earliest times had set forms of Prayer. The primitive
Christians had their Hymns which they sang to Christ as
God.2 Ancient Liturgies are still extant which bear the
names of Apostles, Evangelists, and primitive Fathers of the
Church ; and whatever may be thought of the genuineness
of portions of those Liturgies in their present form, yet they
may serve as witnesses of the practice of ancient Christen
dom in this respect.3 No ancient Christian Church gave
any countenance to extemporaneous prayer; all Christian
Churches agreed in having some set form of public devotion.
And therefore those persons who say that they cannot pray
fervently to God in set forms of prayer, virtually accuse
themselves of being of a very different spirit from that of
all the holy martyrs and saints of all the best ages of the
Church, who worshipped God in that way, — that is, by set
forms of prayer ; and from that of Christ Himself.
Let us now turn our thoughts to that particular form of
public prayer which is best known to ourselves.
More than two centuries have elapsed since the last revi
sion of our own BOOK OP COMMON PRAYER. But let us not
imagine that it is only two centuries old. No, as far as its
substance is concerned, the English Liturgy is as old as the
Church of God. And even as to the form in which that
2 PHn. Epist. x. 97. Cp. Euseb. v. 28.
3 Cp. Bp. Taylor, on Set Forms of Prayer, § 91—94, and Bingham.
Antiquities, Book xiii. chap. v.
1 28 Miscellanies.
substance is embodied, it dates from primitive times. Look,
for example, at its Psalms ^and Hymns. The former are
derived from the Ancient Church of God : they sounded in
the Tabernacle and the Temple. Our Burial Service carries
us back to the days of Job and the Patriarchal Church.
Two of the Hymns which are daily on our lips are from the
New Testament. The Song of the Trishagion, or Thrice
Holy, is an Anthem caught from the quire of Angels, and
echoes from the Courts of heaven. The Te Deum of our
Liturgy is fourteen hundred years old : its Creeds are of a
like antiquity, more or less, and many of our Collects have
been uttered by Christian Churches for more than a thousand
years. Our daily Lessons, Epistles, and Gospels are words
of the Holy Ghost Himself speaking by Patriarchs, Pro
phets, Apostles, and Evangelists.
By means of these set forms of sound words we hold
spiritual communion with each other. By means of our
Liturgy our magnificent Cathedrals are united in the holy
office of offering daily prayer aud praise to God. By means
of our Liturgy our cities are linked together in bonds of
piety and love. By means of our Liturgy our many thousand
village churches form a national chorus, and join together
in a holy concert of hallelujahs to God, and in it the
sweet incense of Prayer ascends in a silver cloud to heaven
from every part of our Land. By means of our Liturgy we
hold spiritual communion with other Churches speaking our
language in almost every quarter of the globe. We hold
spiritual communion, as to the substance of these forms,
with Churches of other countries and of other ages for
many hundreds of years : and thus, by means of these forms,
an uninterrupted strain of prayer and praise goes up in
endless succession to the Throne of God, like the sound of
many waters, like the countless waves of the mighty Ocean
itself, and rolls on in a ceaseless tide of adoration, till it will
at length mingle itself with the multitudinous voices of
beatified spirits in the Church glorified in heaven.4
Here therefore is an answer to those who say that the
English Prayer Book is derived from the Roman Breviary.
4 Rev. xiv. 2.
Blessings of a vernacular Liturgy. 1 29
Its materials are far more ancient than the Breviary, the
name of which is not older than the eleventh century. It is
true, that the Church of England, at her Reformation in the
sixteenth century, wisely retained what was sound and
scriptural in the Breviary used in the Churches of England
at that time. And why ? Because she had no intention to
erect any new Church, or to set up any new altar, or to make
any new Creed, or to invent any new Holy Orders of Ministers
in Christ's Church. No, the Church would not abandon any
thing that was old, merely because it had been abused ; for
if she had been of this mind, she would have cast away the
Bible. She wisely resolved to preserve whatever had been
instituted by Christ, or was in accordance with His institu
tions. She therefore made nothing new; but she purified
what was old from the corruptions and innovations by which
in the lapse of ages it had been blemished and defaced, and
she restored it to its primitive purity and beauty.
True also it is, that she made one great alteration in the
form of the Ritual used in the Public Worship of God; but
that alteration itself was a restoration ; it was a return to
primitive practice. For some centuries before the Reforma
tion, the Liturgy of the Church of England and of the
Western Church generally was in the Latin language. This
arose from the influence of Rome, and from the fact that
Latin had been the vernacular language of Italy at the time
when that Liturgy began to be formed. Doubtless also
there were strong temptations, which might have induced
the Church of England to retain the Latin Language in her
public Ritual. The very fact that Latin was a dead language
offered some inducement in this direction. Being a dead
language it could not undergo any further change. And ifc
was not associated with the secular traffic and daily trivial
routine of common life. It had become like a holy language,
encircled with a sacred halo. And surely we may well allow
that there is something fascinating to the imagination,
something very gratifying to the affections, in the theory, that
by means of one language appropriated and consecrated to the
holy offices of public worship, the whole Church of God may
be united in the same prayers, and that wherever Ministers
VOL. TI. K
1 30 Miscellanies.
and Members of the Church travel through the world they
may hear the same office. Besides, there was something
very nattering to human vanity and pride, — yes, there was
something very flattering to the human vanity of the
Christian Priesthood in the fact, that by means of the Latin
language, used by them in public worship, but not generally
understood by the People, the Clergy were raised above the
Laity; and this distinction was ministerial to the main
tenance of sacerdotal dignity and to the aggrandizement of
sacerdotal power.
In many things our English Reformers showed great
honesty, courage, wisdom, self- sacrifice, and charity; and
perhaps in nothing more, than by the abandonment of the
Latin language, and by the substitution of their mother-
tongue in the public worship of God.
They wisely reflected that the Holy Scriptures of the Old
and New Testament were not written in Latin, but in Hebrew
and Greek : and that the Latin Vulgate itself is a translation
from the original Scriptures. The Latin language itself was
once a vernacular language : it was the mother-tongue of
those who composed the Vulgate, and who used Latin
Prayers in the public worship of Grod. The Romish Latin
Bible therefore is itself an argument for the use of a
vernacular language in public worship; and it is a strong
argument against the Church of Rome, which clings to the
Latin, now that Latin has ceased to be a living tongue ; and
it proves the wisdom of our own Reformers who adopted
English in its place.
Our Reformers well reflected, that Public Worship is not
designed to flatter the pride of man, but to promote the
glory of God, and the salvation of the souls of His people,
for which Christ died on the cross. They well considered
that God's glory cannot be promoted, and that men's souls
cannot be saved, except by a reasonable service, and that a
reasonable service cannot be offered to God unless men pray
with the spirit : and that they cannot pray with the spirit
unless they pray in a language which they understand.
They remembered also that the holy Apostle St. Paul,
speaking in the Spirit, declares that in the Church he had
Blessings of the English Prayer Book. 131
rather speak Jive words with his understanding than ten
thousand in an unknown tongue? Therefore they wisely
resolved to sacrifice all unauthorized priestly privileges at
the altar of God's glory. They resolved that the English
Nation should possess a Bible and a Prayer Book which the
English People might understand, and that they might hear
with the spirit, and pray with the spirit, and might hear
with the understanding, and pray with the understanding
also.
Almighty God has been pleased to bless that resolution.
He has ^made the English Bible and the English Prayer
Book to be the household books of the English people in all
parts of the world. He has blessed that resolution by
vouchsafing to the English Nation and to the English
Church a wonderful vitality and extension, so that there is
now scarcely a region under heaven in which the English
Bible is not read, and in which the voice of supplication
and of praise does not ascend to God in the holy accents of
the English Book of Common Prayer.
Therefore the English Church and the English Nation may
well join in an anthem of praise to God for the blessings He
has vouchsafed to us by means of the English Liturgy. In
order that we may hold it fast and keep it, let us endeavour
to appreciate it duly and to use it aright.
Is it not to be feared that many parts of our Prayer Book
are but little known to us, and that thus we forfeit a portion
of our Christian birthright ? If the Prayer Book were in
an unknown tongue, there would be some excuse for this.
But since, by God's blessing, it is open to us all, shall we
not have to give a strict account to Him how we have used
it ? Some there are among us, who would reform the Prayer
Book. Might they not be better employed in reforming their
own practice with regard to the Prayer Book ? If we under
stood it better, if we conformed to it more closely, we
should value it more ; and our own religious life would be
improved. For example, is it to be supposed that our
devotion on our holy Festivals would be so slack and languid
as it too often is, if we understood and valued the spiritual
5 1 Cor. xiv. 19.
K 2
132 Miscellanies.
blessings we may derive from a due observance of the sacred
seasons of the Christian Year, and if we duly availed our
selves of the practical teaching which is conveyed by the
examples of the working of God's grace in the histories of
the lives of the holy Apostles and Evangelists and Martyrs,
whose actions and sufferings are presented to us for our
imitation in the religious services of the Book of Common
Prayer ? Or, to take another instance, to which I have
referred already, is it to be supposed that the peace of our
English homes, and the happiness of society, would ever
have been so much imperilled and jeopardized, as they now
are, by the facilities given to Divorce, and by temptations
to conjugal unfaithfulness, and all their miseries private
and public, — if, as a Nation, and as individuals, we had duly
realized and appreciated the sacred truths contained in
the Office for Holy Matrimony in our Book of Common
Prayer ?
What shall we say more ? Let us end with two testimonies
to the Book of Common Prayer : one a public declaration,
the other of a private character. The Realm of England
herself, speaking in a parliamentary statute, framed three
centuries ago, used these memorable words with regard to
the English Liturgy. It recorded as a great national blessing,
that "one meet and convenient order, rite, and fashion of Com
mon and open Prayer had been set forth in the English tongue,
agreeable to the order of the primitive Church, and much
more comfortable to the King's loving subjects, than other
diversity of service as heretofore of long time hath been
used, seeing in the said Book (of Common Prayer) nothing
is ordained to be read but the Pure Word of God, or what is
evidently grounded on the same ; and the said Book is very
comfortable to all good People desiring to live in Christian
conversation, and most profitable to the estate of this Realm,
upon which the mercy, favour, and blessing of Almighty
God is in no wise so readily and plenteously poured as by
Common Prayers, due using of the Sacraments, and often
preaching of the Gospel, with the devotion of the hearers."
6 3 & 4 Edward VI., cap. 10. See also 5 & 6 Edward VI., cap. 1.
Testimonies of the Legislature — George Herbert. 133
These words are from an Act of Parliament made three
centuries ago, and display a noble specimen of that ancestral
piety which is our best state policy, — and which we of the
present age may well commemorate with joy, and may well
emulate with love.
The other testimony to which I would refer is derived from
one whose name will ever be associated with what is most
beautiful and holy in this land, and especially with the wor
ship of the sanctuary, George Herbert. His biographer,
Isaac Walton, relates that George Herbert, in his priestly
ministrations to the people of his Parish, " made it appear
that the whole service of the Church is a reasonable and
therefore an acceptable service to God/' and having described
the method by which he did this, he adds, that he showed
them that " Common Prayer is the blessed union of hearts
and voices in the holiest and happiest of all affections and
actions, and assured them that, when there is such mutual
love and such joint prayers offered by the members of a
Christian congregation for each other, then the holy angels
look down from heaven, and are ready to carry such charit
able desires to God Almighty, and He is as ready to receive
them; and that a Christian people calling thus upon God
with one heart and one voice, and in one reverent and holy
posture, look as beautiful as Jerusalem that is at peace within
herself."
May we be prepared by the prayers and praises of the
Jerusalem on earth for the everlasting peace and joy of the
Jerusalem that is above, to which may God bring us all,
through Jesus Christ our Lord ! Amen.
THE HOLY SACRAMENTS.
HOLY BAPTISM.
ALL sacred ministrations in the Church of Christ have
a double aspect — the one towards God, the other towards
men. The Clergy are the "Lord's remembrancers/' l They
intreat Him to remember His people j and they intreat the
people to remember Him. God does not disdain to call the
clergy His messengers — His angels.2 The Church of God is
His Bethel; that is, the House of God. The Christian
ministry is like a holy ladder set in it — a ladder set on earth,
and the top reaches to heaven ; and the Lord stands above
it.8 The priests of God are like His angels, ascending and
descending upon it.4 They ascend in prayer to Him, and
they descend from Him with blessing, especially in the Holy
Sacraments, and in Confirmation. But as a wise man says,5
" What we all admire and honour in the Holy Sacraments is
not so much the service we do unto God in receiving them,
as the dignity of the sacred gift which we thereby receive
from God" In the Christian Bethel, what would it profit
us, that ministering angels should ascend from earth in prayer
and intercession to God, unless the Lord God Himself stood
above the ladder, and bade them to descend with pardon,
grace, and blessing to us from Him, and with gifts of life
1 See Isaiah Ixii. 6, margin and notes.
3 Malachi ii. 7 ; cp. Rev. i. 20, and ii. and iii. throughout.
3 Gen. xxviii. 12, 13.
4 This is the language of Hooker (Eccles. Pol., V. xxiii.), Bishop
Andrewes (Sermon on Luke xi. 2, in vol. v. p. 355), and Dr. Hammond
on Rev. i. 23.
« Hooker, Eccles. Pol. Book V., chap. 1. 2.
Christ the Source of Sacramental Grace. 135
divine and immortal, and joy infinite and eternal, both to our
souls and bodies ?
The fountain and well-spring of all these blessings is in
the wounded and bleeding side of our adorable Redeemer
Jesus Christ, Very God and Very Man, dying for us upon
the Cross. The Cross itself is the ladder, and "the Lord
God is upon it." And the channels by which these blessings
flow to us are the Holy Sacraments. The Church was formed
from Christ dying on the Cross, even as Eve was formed
from Adam sleeping in Paradise. The life of the Church is
from the streams of blood and water flowing from that pierced
side. We receive from Christ, through the Sacraments, that
which will make our bodies and souls glorious for evermore.
In Holy Baptism the Blood of Christ is first applied to wash
us from original guilt. In Baptism we were born anew by
the operation of the life-giving Spirit Who moved on the
waters at Creation, and imparted to them a quickening
power. In Baptism we first receive Christ, and become one
with Christ, and are made children of God by adoption in
His well-beloved Son, and have a pledge of a blessed resur
rection and a glorious immortality in Him Who is " the
Eesurrection and the Life." 6 Therefore it is fit that Holy
Baptism should be ministered in no other time and place than
during Divine Service in the public congregation, when
angels love to be present ; 1 in order that by the prayers of
many hearts and voices these blessings should come down
from heaven in a gracious shower of abundance, and that
thanks should be given by many for them ; and that the
Church herself, the Bride of Christ, should open wide the
arms of her motherly love to embrace Christ's offspring and
hers; and that all those who are then present should be
reminded of their own baptismal vows and privileges, and of
their consequent duties to God, their brethren, and them
selves.
In some parish churches which have grand old Fonts, a
poor and mean basin is placed in the Font itself. This is not
only irreverent but illegal. The Church contemplates that
infants should be immersed at Baptism. This act is significant
6 John xi. 25. 7 1 Cor. xi. 10.
136 Miscellanies.
of the baptismal death unto sin, and the burial of the old man
in Baptism, and the resurrection unto righteousness. This
is her first desire. In no case does she allow sprinkling. If
the " child cannot endure dipping, then it shall suffice that
water be poured upon it." 8
If Baptism had been always rightly administered in the
congregation, Anabaptism would not have grown up, and
erroneous notions on our new Birth and Baptism would not
have prevailed, and the Romish plea for re-baptization of our
people would have no ground to rest upon.
INFANT BAPTISM.
THE following letter was written by me to the inhabitants of
a Parish in the Diocese of Lincoln where the Baptism of
Infants was gainsaid by many adversaries.
MY DEAR FRIENDS,
I purpose to write you a letter concerning the Sacra
ment of Baptism as administered to Infants.
The Church of England, in her Office for Baptism in the
Book of Common Prayer, asserts that Infants are regene
rated, or born anew, by the power and mercy of God, acting
in and by the Sacrament of Baptism ; and she teaches her
children to say in her Catechism that " they were made in
their Baptism members of Christ, children of God, and in
heritors of the kingdom of heaven ; " also, the Church of
England, in the Book of Common Prayer, which is the law
of the Realm as well as of the Church, and which every
Clergyman solemnly promises to obey, forbids a Minister to
use the Burial Service over an nnbaptized person.
Some among you, I am sorry to hear, are offended by such
language as this. Some do not hesitate to denounce this
doctrine as repugnant to Holy Scripture. And some, I
regret to add, who are violent in their language against it,
do not seem to have examined what the doctrine is.
Let us calmly consider what they have to say against it.
* Rubric in the Office for Public Baptism of Infants.
Infant Baptism. 137
One objection which they make is derived from the sup
posed unworthiness of Infants. How, it is asked, being such
as they are, can Infants receive Grace ?
To this we answer, — Strictly speaking, no one can be
worthy of Grace ; otherwise it would not be Grace. " Gratia
vocatur quia gratis datur," says St. Augustine ; that is, " It
is called Grace because it is given gratis."
But, let us observe, to be unworthy of Grace is one thing,
and to receive it unworthily is another. If an adult comes to
Baptism without Faith and Repentance, he receives it un
worthily. But this is not the case with an infant. An infant
brings, it is true, a nature which has been depraved by
Adam's sin ; but that nature was created by God, and has
been taken by Christ ; it has been borne by Him above the
clouds, it is worn by Him at the Right Hand of God. And
we do not first love God, but God first loved us (1 John iv.
19). He makes the first motion towards us. Unless He
begins the work of Grace in the heart, it can never be begun
at all. The Infant has already received a blessing from God,
and a token of His favour, in its natural birth, without any
act or knowledge of its own ; and if it is the child of believ
ing parents, it comes into the world with a special promise of
spiritual grace. For "now are your children holy," says
St. Paul (1 Cor. vii. 14) ; and "The promise is to you and
your children," says St. Peter (Acts ii. 39). And all infants
are to be brought to Christ by the Church, and by that Ministry
which He has appointed, saying, Go and teach all nations
(Matt, xxviii. 19) ; and Christ died for all — He tasted death
for every man (Heb. ii. 9). Infants have souls to be saved
and God will have all men to be saved (1 Tim. ii. 4) j and it
is not your Father's pleasure, says Christ, that one of these
little ones should perish (Matt, xviii. 10, 14). And there is
no other regularly appointed way of salvation — no other
ordinary door to the Kingdom of Heaven, but Baptism.
You say, my dear friends, that you will not believe this,
unless you hear it from the lips of CHRIST Himself. Listen
then to His words : Except a man be born of Water, and of
the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God 9
9 These words (as every reader of the original knows) do not mean
138 Miscellanies.
(John iii. 5). Christ therefore wills infants to be baptized;
and, in order to be saved, they must be born again — for,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God
(John iii. 3). And infants are specially liable to sickness
and death. Of a hundred children born in London, twenty-
four die before they reach the age of two years: infants
therefore have special need of Baptism, and they have some
special qualifications for it. True it is, they have not actual
faith or repentance. But God is not a hard task-master ;
He does not require impossibilities ; He accepteth a man
according to what he hath, and not according to what he
hath not (2 Cor. viii. 12). The strength of His grace triumphs
in an infant's weakness. His tender love to all is most
clearly and beautifully seen in the salvation of new-born
babes. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He has
ordained strength (Ps. viii. 2). And though infants cannot
have the actual faith and repentance of grown-up men, yet,
on the other hand, they do not bring with them the actual
sins of adults ; and grown-up men are sent by Christ to learn
humility from infants (Mark x. 15). He exhorteth all men
to follow their iunocency — for of such is the kingdom of God
(Luke xviii. 16).
The souls of infants, therefore, are the best soil for. divine"
grace, and we cannot doubt that the heavenly seed sown
therein at Baptism will take root and bring forth fair flowers
and rich fruits, if parents and teachers do their duty by them,
and if that soil be watered with the successive and continuous
dews and rains of the Holy Spirit, given in Prayer, and in
the hearing and reading of God's Word, and in the Apostolic
rite of Confirmation, and in the Holy Communion, and in the
other regular ministrations of Religion.
But some persons ther6 are who allege that it is a silly
thing to bring Infants into Covenant with God, inasmuch as
by reason of their infancy they cannot understand the terms
of that Covenant; and who also say that it is an absurd thing
to put the questions to Infants, which the Church of Eng
land puts in her office for Baptism. " Dost tJwu believe ? "
" except a man," as opposed to a woman or child ; but they mean " who
soever is not born" whether he be infant or adult.
Reply to objections. 139
"Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?" "Wilt thou
obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and
walk in the same all the days of thy life ? "
What shall we say here ? Let us consider. Did not God
Himself require all the male children of the Hebrew Nation
to be brought into Covenant with Himself, at eight days after
their birth, by the rite of Circumcision ? And did He not
say that the male child that is not circumcised should be cut
off from His people; he hath broken My Covenant (Gen.
xvii. 13 — 14) ? and was not every circumcised infant bound by
the covenant of circumcision to keep the Law of Moses, of
which the Infant knew nothing when he was circumcised ?
Evident, therefore, it is that Infants may be brought into
covenant with God ; and now that the Son of God Himself
has given fresh dignity to Infancy by being born an Infant
into the World, can we imagine, my dear friends, that Infancy
under the Gospel of Christ has lost any privilege that it
possessed under the Law of Moses ? Heaven forbid. Infants
therefore may be, and ought to be, brought into Covenant
with God.
But why should we ask them Whether they believe ?
Why ask them Whether they will obey ?
My friends, the reason is, Because Infants have souls : and
because every Infant is rightly supposed to desire to be saved
and to be happy for evermore; and because Baptism is a con
tract or covenant in which remission of sins and the Holy Ghost
are given, and in which Eternal life is promised ; and because
every contract or covenant supposes conditions and stipula
tions on both sides ; and because there is no revealed way of
salvation except by belief and obedience ; and because God is
a merciful Father and does not take unfair advantage of
the helplessness of Infants, which is due to their nature,
which is His Work ; and because He graciously allows them,
who cannot speak for themselves,, to give utterance, by the
mouth of others, to the yearnings of their very nature for
everlasting happiness; and because He specially loves the
simplicity of Infants, and Christ says "of such is the kingdom
of Heaven/' and because such is the dignity of Infants in
His sight, that, as Christ says, their angels evermore see
140 Miscellanies.
God's face (Matt, xviii. 10) and because Christ has sanctified
the robe of infancy by wearing it Himself, and because their
Heavenly Father graciously assumes that they already com
ply, as far as they are able, with the terms of the covenant,
without which they cannot receive pardon and grace, and
cannot be saved, and that they will comply with it more fully
when they are better able to do so.
My dear friends, do we not ourselves act upon these prin
ciples ? Is not a guardian of an infant admitted to enter into
a covenant in behalf of the infant, and for the infant's benefit,
although the infant knows nothing of the nature of the
covenant ? and is not this act of the guardian supposed to be
the act of the infant ? and is not the infant permitted to derive
benefit from that act ? Assuredly it is. And suppose the
case of an infant Sovereign. Does he not enter into stipula
tions with his people by means of others, and does he not
receive homage in consequence of these stipulations ? And
if such things are done for temporal benefits and for an
earthly Crown, how much more ought they to be done for a
heavenly and eternal one ?
Consider, brethren, once more, the case of the Israelites of
old. St. Paul says, " I would not have you ignorant how that
all our Fathers were under the cloud and all passed through
the sea, and were all baptized into Moses in the Cloud and in
the sea" (1 Cor. x. 1, 2). He says all — men and women
and also children — they were all baptized into Moses. And
if children were baptized into Moses surely they may be bap
tized into Christ.
And further, in the old law, God admitted Parents to enter
into covenant with Him on behalf of their children ; yes,
and even for the absent. Hear God's own words: "Ye stand
this day all of you before the Lord your God ; all the men of
Israel; your little ones," (observe He says your little ones,)
your wives and thy stranger; neither with you 'only I make
this covenant, but with him that standeth here with us this
day before the Lord, and also with him that is not here with
us this day" (Deut. xxix. 10 — 15).
If, by God's command, Parents were to make .a covenant
for their children with Him under the Law, surely a similar
Infant Baptism. 141
covenant may be made with God for children under the
Gospel.
But it is also alleged by some that it is not Baptism that
saves, but that Faith saves, and that Jesus Christ saves.
This is quite true, but it is not to the purpose.
The Church of England never says that Baptism saves
absolutely and necessarily ; but what the Church of England
says is, that Baptism puts us into the way of salvation. The
Church of England — adopting the language of St. Paul —
says in her Office for Baptism, that God led His people Israel
through the Red Sea, figuring thereby His holy Baptism ; but
the Church of England knows well that although God led
His people Israel in safety through the Red Sea, yet after
wards, on account of their unbelief and disobedience, " their
carcases fell in the wilderness " (Heb. iii. 17). God led them
through the Red Sea in order that they might be saved, and
they could not have been saved unless they had been led
through the Red Sea; but many of them were not saved;
and why ? because they sinned against God (1 Cor. x. 5 — 12.
Heb. iii. 19).
And so the Church of England teaches, that God has
instituted Baptism in order that we may be saved, and that,
humanly speaking, we cannot be saved without Baptism,
where it may be had, because Christ has instituted Baptism
for our salvation, and we cannot be saved without obedience
to our Saviour. But by saying that the passage of Israel
through the Red Sea was a figure of Holy Baptism, she
warns us that though we have been baptized, yet we shall
not be saved, unless we obey God. And let them who say
that it is faith that saves, and that it is Jesus who saves, be
earnestly entreated to consider, whether they themselves
can be said to have faith, and whether they can hope to be
saved by Jesus, if, when Jesus Himself invites Infants to
Him, they keep them from Him; and if, when Jesus Himself
says, " Of such is the kingdom of heaven/' they exclude
them from entering into covenant with God ; and if when
Jesus Himself says, " Except a man " (that is, except
any one, of whatever age) " is born again of Water and of
the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
1 4 2 Miscellanies.
heaven," they forbid children to be baptized, and perhaps
have never been baptized themselves.
My dear friends, we cannot be said to have faith in Jesus,
and we cannot rightly hope to be saved by Jesus, except we
believe what Jesus says, and except we do what Jesus
commands.
And here we have a ready answer to the objection derived
from the evil lives of many baptized persons. How, it is
asked, can such as these be said to have been born again of
the Holy Spirit ? Where are the fruits of the Spirit ?
If we were at one mind with the Church of Rome, that
Baptism destroys the essence of original sin as well as
removes its guilt ; or, if we were disciples of Calvin, and
believed that grace is irresistible and indefectible, and that
human free-will is a dream, then we might be perplexed
with this question. But since we hold the faith which we
have learnt from Holy Scripture and the Primitive Church,
it affects us not.
Human practice, however general, contrary to the intents
of divine grace, does not prove any antecedent defect of
divine grace. No one will say that divine grace was
not given by God to the Old World, by the preaching
of Noah : yet only eight souls were saved in the ark. No
one will say that grace was not given by God to the Israelites
in the wilderness : yet only two men of the old generation
(priests excepted) entered into Canaan. No one will say that
grace was not shed largely by God on the Jews, by the
ministry of the prophets : yet the whole head was sick and
the whole heart faint (Isa. i. 5). No one will say that grace
did not come by Jesus Christ (John i. 17), Whose lips were
full of grace (Ps. xlv. 2) : yet He had but a little flock (Luke
xii. 32), and many of His disciples went back and walked no
more with Him (John vi. 66). So, alas, it is true, lamentably
true, that many baptized persons live evil lives ; but let no
one therefore say that they did not receive grace at Baptism.
Be assured that God has done His part; but man has failed to
do his. Parents, or Sponsors, or Spiritual Teachers, have been
culpably remiss or faithless, — especially if they have taught
them that they are not regenerated by Baptism. They them-
Holy Communion. 143
selves who have been baptized and who lead evil lives have
neglected or stifled the divine grace given them at Baptism.
They have grieved the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore
they are guilty in God's sight, and ought to repent ; and
unless they repent they cannot be saved. And herein
consists their sin. For in proportion to God's grace so is
man's responsibility. But ^/"they had not been born again by
baptismal grace, how could they be reproved by their parents
for not living as Christians ? How could they be expected
to walk as children of God ? But now, having received the
heavenly gift, and having been made partakers of the Holy
Ghost (Heb. vi. 4) let them hear the warnings and encourage
ments and obey the precepts of the gospel. Awake thou
that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light (Eph. v. 14).
In conclusion, my dear friends, I trust you will bear with
me when I say that there are, and can be, but two kinds of
profitable teaching : one, that which invites and prepares an
unbaptized person to receive the Sacrament of Baptism ;
and the other, that which exhorts those who have been
baptized to stir up the grace which they received, and to
perform the vows which they made at Baptism, and to pray
fervently that as they have been once regenerated in Baptism
by the Holy Ghost, so they may be daily renewed by the
same Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord.
May God bless you and yours, and keep you in His faith,
fear, and love, and bring you to His heavenly kingdom,
through His dear Son.
I am, my dear Friends, yours sincerely,
C. LINCOLN.
HOLY COMMUNION.
CHRISTIAN life, begun in Baptism, is continually renewed,
refreshed, and strengthened in the HOLY COMMUNION. What
is to be contemplated in that Holy Sacrament, by the eye
of faith and love, is Christ — God and Man — giving Himself
to us thereby, and making us partakers of that life immortal,
144 Miscellanies.
both in body and soul, which is derived from Him Who is
the Resurrection and the Life/ and without Whom there is
no true life. In that Blessed Sacrament the bodies of the
faithful are " made clean by His Body, and their souls are
washed through His most precious Blood." In it we receive
Him, Who is the Life, and we " dwell in Him and He in
us." Reception of Him thereby is indispensable. " Except
ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood, ye
have no life in you." And therefore, when He instituted
the Holy Communion, He said, " Take, eat ; " " Drink, ye.
all of this." 3 And St. Paul says, " The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of
Christ : the bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the Body of Christ ? " 4
Anything, therefore, which tends to put an obstacle in the
way of actual reception of the Holy Communion, or to
obscure the truth that it is a communion, and that the
reception of that Holy Sacrament is the paramount duty and
privilege to be recognized therein, and is essential to the
derivation of any benefit from it; or that tends to make
separation among those who ought to be united together in
communion with one another in Christ, and in simultaneous
reception of Him, cannot be otherwise than unpleasing to
Him Who instituted that Holy Feast of love, in order to
make us thereby partakers together of Himself, the Giver
of all grace and glory.
One matter to which I would here advert is the enforce
ment of fasting as a- necessary pre-requisite for the reception
of the Holy Communion.
This condition is now prescribed by some on the plea of
reverence, according to which it is said that the Holy
Sacrament ought to be the first food that we take in the
day ; and, secondly, it is affirmed, that, except we comply
with this requirement, we set ourselves against the ancient
Catholic Church of Christ.
The plea of reverence has not unfrequently been insinuated
1 John xi. 25. 1 John v. 12. 2 John vi. 53.
3 Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. 4 1 Cor. x.
Enforcement of fasting before Communion. 145
by the Evil One into the minds of men, in order to draw
them from Christ. Fear of Christ moved the Gadarenes to
beseech Him to depart out of their coasts.5 Reverence for
the Blood of Christ was pleaded by the Council of Constance
in the fifteenth century, when they took away the Cup from
the laity.6 And there is reason to think that the Evil One
destroys the spiritual health of many in our own day, by
suggesting to them that they are safer in fearing to come
to the Holy Communion, than in lovingly obeying the
command of that Blessed Saviour who said, "Do this in
remembrance of Me."
To this plea therefore we would reply with earnest affec
tion, that true reverence to Christ is shown by dutiful
obedience to Him.
What, therefore, is His will in this matter ?
To this question it is replied by some, that Christ declares
His will by His Church, and that the ancient Catholic
Church communicated fasting ; and that, therefore, fasting is
a pre-requisite for the Holy Communion.
To this we would say, Heaven forbid that we should
disparage fasting. We are no followers of Aerius or
Jovinian. We readily allow that at the present day we have
great reason to humble ourselves for our surfeiting and self-
indulgence. We have much cause to repent of our neglect
of fasting as prescribed by our own Church. How many
there are who care little for her commands with regard to
the observance of the Fast of Friday, or of Lent, or of
Good Friday, or of Ash Wednesday ! Fasting is a good
thing. But (as one said of old) let good things be done
well.7 Let us not fast with those whom the prophet blames,
as fasting " for strife and debate." 8 Let us not fast with
the Pharisees, who fasted "to be seen of men," and
boasted themselves as holier than others.9 Let us not
5 Matt. viii. 34.
6 The pleas of the Council were — " Ne sanguis Christ! effunderetur ;
ne laici incurrerent pcenas madidando barbam," &o.*, &c. See Von der
Hardt, Concil. Constant, iii. p. 369. Cp. Trent Catechism, pt. ii. cap. iv.
qu. 50.
? Zonaras, in Canon. Apost. 66.
3 Isaiah Iviii. 4. 9 Matt. vi. 16. Luke xviii. 12.
VOL II. ^
146 Miscellanies .
fast with the Montanists of old, who prescribed fasts of their
own invention, or with the Puritans in our own land, in the
seventeenth century, who fasted with churlish singularity on
Christmas Day. But let us fast in a spirit of penitential
sorrow and humble self-abasement, and dutiful and loving
obedience to that spiritual authority, under which we have
been placed by the good providence of God.
Yes, it is rejoined, this is our opinion. The ancient
Catholic Church received the Communion fasting, and in
deference to her authority we are bound to do the same.
Let us ever be ready to pay that honour to the ancient
Church which is due to her. But even because we feel
reverence for that wisdom which God gave her, and for the
presence of Christ and of His Holy Spirit in the Church — a
presence which He has never withdrawn from her — we must
not allow ourselves to be so tied to the letter of laws ritual
and ceremonial, as to forget the spirit which gives them life.
Nothing is more easy, and — let me be forgiven for saying —
nothing is more childish, than to lay down as a general rule
in such matters, " The ancient Church did so and so, and
we must therefore do the same." As a holy and wise man
truly says,1 " They that walk in darkness know not whither
they go ; and even as little is their certainty, whose opinions
generalities only do guide. With gross and popular capa
cities nothing doth more prevail than unlimited generalities,
because of their plainness at first sight : nothing less with
men of exact judgment, because such rules are not to be
trusted over far."
In order, therefore, that we may not walk in darkness,
nor be deluded by unlimited generalities, let us search into
the truth on this matter.
There is but one Faith, which is necessary to be held by
all in every place in every age for their everlasting salva
tion : ' ' the faith once delivered to the saints."' J Of this
faith, as revealed in Holy Scripture, and set forth in the
Creeds of the Catholic Church of Christ, let us never bate
a single iota or tittle. But Christ never intended, — the
ancient Church of Christ never dreamt, — that in matters
1 Hooker, E. P., V. i*. 2. 2 Jude 3.
Difference of Doctrines and Ceremonies. 147
ritual and ceremonial (I am not speaking of the Holy Sacra
ments, instituted by Christ for the attainment of ends of
never-ceasing necessity to all) one fixed and rigid rule
should be enforced everywhere and at all times, and that the
Church of God should be deprived of the benefit of that ripe
experience, which Time, by His goodness, brings with it,
and be barred from the exercise of that discretion which is
His gift. No : such a supposition as that would be to
confound faith with forms, and doctrine with ritual — a fond
and fatal mistake. On the contrary, it was well said of old,
that it is even desirable that ceremonies should not be the
same everywhere and always, but should vary in different
places and seasons,3 in order that men may not think that
religion is tied to ceremonies, and in order that variety of
ritual may bring out in clearer light the unity of doctrine.
Consequently, as our own Church declares (Art. xxxiv.),
"Every particular or national Church hath authority to
ordain, change, and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church,
ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done
to edifying."
The answer of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, to Monica,
the mother of St. Augustine, is pertinent here.4 When she
asked him, whether she ought not to fast on Saturdays at
Milan, inasmuch as it was the custom at Rome to fast on
that day, the Bishop answered, " I will tell you what I
myself do : when I am at Rome I fast on Saturday, and
when I am not at Rome, but at Milan, I do not fast on
Saturday. I do at Milan, what they do at Milan ; and I do
at Rome, what they do at Rome." And St. Augustine
himself adds, in the letter where he relates this anecdote,
"Let there be one faith, in the inner life of the whole
Church in every place, albeit the unity of the faith is blended
with varieties of ritual. For 'the King's daughter is all
glorious within : her clothing is of wrought gold/ 5 The
Church is beautiful in the unity of her inner life of faith,
3 S. Irenseus, ap. Euseb. v. 21. Cp. S. Greg. Mag. Epist. i. 43.
* See Augustine, Epist. ad Casulanum, Epist. xxxvi. 32, vol. ii.
p. 126, ed. Gaume ; and ad Januarium, Epist. liv., ibid. p. 186.
5 Ps. xlv. 14.
L 2
1 48 Miscellanies.
and this inner beauty is not marred, but rather enhanced,
by the embroidered needlework of variety of ritual. "
Let us understand the facts of the case. Our Blessed
Lord did not institute the Holy Communion when He was
fasting. Nor did He minister it to those who were fasting.
We read that " After supper He took the cup ; " B and
though there was something special in the circumstances of
that particular act which may well modify its application as
a rule for us to follow, yet it may be added, that on another
occasion, when there were no such circumstances, He
sanctified a meal by administering, as is generally supposed,
the Holy Communion ; namely at Emmaus, when He was
made known to the two disciples in the breaking of
bread.7
The Primitive Church hallowed her daily food by re
ceiving the Holy Communion after it.6 This practice led to
abuses in some churches, as at Corinth ; and St. Paul
interposed by his apostolic authority to correct those abuses.9
It is observable, that the holy Apostle, who was inspired by
the Holy Ghost, does not do what some persons, who are not
inspired, teach as needful to be done ; while correcting the
abuses at Corinth with respect to that Holy Sacrament, he
does not command the Corinthians to fast before they
receive the Communion. On the contrary, he rather advises
them to eat before coming to Communion ; he says, " If any
man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not togetJier to
condemnation." ' He certainly contemplates and he even
recommends that some should eat before coming to
Communion.
In the minute account, which Justin Martyr has given, of
the administration of the Holy Communion on the Lord's
6 Luke xxii. 20. 1 Cor. xi. 25. 1 Luke xxiv. 35.
8 See Bishop Pearson in Acta Apostolorum, Lect. iii., p. 346, ed.
Churton. " Mensae discipulorum tune temporis communes et sacnc
etiam fuere, hoc est, in communi convictu Sacramentum Eucharistise
celebrabant." Cp. p. 325. These were the dyaVat, of which St. Jude
speaks (Jude 12).
>J 1 Cor. xi. 17—34.
» 1 Cor. xi. 34.
Primitive practice. 149
Day in the middle of the second century, there is no mention
of fasting as a pre-requisite for its reception.2
In sub-apostolic times, which were times of persecution,
it became usual to receive the Holy Communion very early
in the morning. The description given by Pliny to the
Emperor Trajan, of the Christian assemblies in Asia Minor,
confirms this statement.3 And it is corroborated by
Tertullian 4 at the end of the second century. Various
reasons may be assigned for this change of practice. It
may have been introduced because the hour, as well as the
day 5 of our Lord's resurrection, had a significant propriety
for the administration of the Sacrament, which is the pledge
and earnest to us of our resurrection, by communion with
Him who is the Resurrection and the Life ; and also because
it was fit that this holy food should be the first received on
that day, and probably also because in times of persecution
the early twilight morning hour, with its quiet seclusion in
the catacombs, and other places of retreat, was the best
that could have been chosen for the assemblies of Christians,
who were ready to endure death for their Master's sake, but
would not tempt any one to be guilty of sinning against Him
by persecuting His disciples.6
At the close of the fourth century, it was the practice of
the Church to receive the Communion before any other food,
except on one day of the year, namely on Maundy Thursday
2 Justin Martyr, Apol. i. c. 65, c. 66, and c. 67, pp. 266—270, ed.
Otto, lenae, 1842.
3 Plin. Epist., x. 97: "Affirmabant hanc fuisse summam vel culpse
suss vel erroris, quod essent soliti stato die ante lucem convenire ; car-
menque Christo, quasi Deo, dicere secum invicem, seque sacramento non
in scelus aliquod obstringere," &c.
4 De Corona, c. 3 : " Eucbaristiae Sacramentum etiam antelucanis
ccetibus sumimus." Does the " etiam " here imply that they received
also at other times ?
5 S. Cyprian, Epist. Ixiii., ed. Fell, p. 156.
6 As Bingham says (Antiquities of the Christian Church, XIII. x.
11), " The Christians being afraid to meet publicly on the Lord's Day for
Divine worship, were forced to hold their assemblies in the night, meeting
early in the morning before day, to avoid the observation of their
enemies, whence they were called a ' latebrosa et lucifugax natio.' "
(Minuc. Felix, p. 25.)
150 Miscellanies.
— the anniversary of the day when the Holy Communion
was instituted. On that anniversary it was administered
after supper, as a record of the time of its original institution
by Christ.7
All this is readily allowed, and it would be irreverent and
presumptuous in us to say that the Church of God did not
act wisely and well in this matter. If we had lived in those
days, our duty would have been to conform to this rule of
the Church.
But then it is no less certain that it would be also
irreverent and presumptuous in us to take on ourselves to
be legislators in matter ritual, and to impose customs,
whether derived from the first century or from the fourth
century, in a spirit of opposition to the laws and usages of
that particular Church in which our own lot is cast by the
good providence of God, If some among us are to take
upon themselves to import an early fasting Communion from
the third and fourth centuries, and to impose it as a matter
of necessity, why should not others among us be allowed to
import an Evening Communion from the first century, and
from the practice of Christ Himself and of the Apostles, and
to impose it as a matter of necessity ? Surely much
confusion and division would arise from such a course as this,
by which private persons adopt practices from Christian
Antiquity, and would enforce them on others. Our Blessed
Lord and His Apostles reclined at the Holy Communion ;
are we therefore to be obliged to do the same ? Are the
ancient agapce, or love-feasts, to be restored ? The early
Christians saluted one another with a holy kiss at the
Communion; is this to be practised also? The primitive
Christians sold their goods and had all things in common ; 8
7 See S. Augustine, Epist. liv. 8 and 9, ed. Januarium, vol. ii., pp. 189,
190, ed. Gaume. Concil. Garth., iii., can. 29, from which it appears
also that the Communion was usually administered in the morning early,
and not " pomeridiano teinpore." On that day, as S. Augustine says,
ad Januarium, 190, when the Communion was administered in the
afternoon, " neminem cogimus ante dominicam illam ccenam prandere sed
nulli etiam contradicere audemus."
8 Actsii. 44; iv. 37.
What is true wisdom as to Ceremonies. 151
are our people to be constrained to do the same ? In
primitive times, the Apostles lived upon voluntary offerings,
or by the labours of their own hands ; 9 is this also to be
made a, rule for us ? It was an ancient practice for many
centuries to administer the Holy Communion to infants ; *
shall we undertake to prescribe this also by our own private
authority? The ancient Church read the Epistle of St.
Clement of Rome, the Shepherd of Hermas, and other like
books, in their public congregations ; are we bound to do
the same ? The first General Council of the Church, the
Council of Nicsea, forbade men to kneel in church on
Sundays,2 or in the season between Easter and Pentecost ;
shall we require our people to remain standing in our
churches on those days and during that time ? The ancient
Christians stood at sermon time, and the ancient clergy
preached sitting, and did not preach written sermons ; are
our congregations to be required to remain on their
feet, and to listen to us, while we preach extempore to
them?
The hopeless and unutterable confusion which would be
introduced by the application of a rule, to which some among
us now appeal with such surprising confidence, would in the
end lead to the result that they who now apply and would
enforce the rule in a special case, would be among the first
to resent its application to themselves, and to entreat us to
set it aside.
Nor is this all. If the rule of some ages of the ancient
Church, as to fasting Communion, is to be applied and
enforced by us on our own authority, it ought not to be
applied partially, but with all the concomitant circumstances
which gave a reasonableness to it.
As I have said, in that primitive age Holy Communion
was administered very early in the morning, and often
before day -break ; and therefore it was not then a rigid and
harsh thing to say, "Let the Holy Sacrament be the first
food taken by thee in the day. Break not thy fast before
» Acts xx. 34 i Cp. Bingham, XV. iv. 7.
2 Cone. Nicsen. can. 20.
152 Miscellanies.
the day breaks." But this is not the case now. The
Church of England, being warned by the example of other
Churches, such as those of Prance and Italy, which now
require fasting as a pre-requisite for the Holy Communion ;
and seeing that the reception of the Holy Communion, which
is the main thing to be required of all Christians, is hindered
by that requirement, and that the number of actual com
municants in those Churches is very small ; and that persons
who have communicated early in the morning in those
Churches, or even have been present at an early Celebration
without communicating, imagine that the principal religious
duty of the day is done, and then spend the rest of the Lord's
Day in worldly dissipation ; and that in many places private
masses> in which the priest is the only recipient, have
usurped the place of Communions, — has profited by her
experience, and, in the exercise of a wise discretion, and
actuated by a spirit of charity for her children, while she
encourages early Communion as a blessed beginning of any
day in our lives — and especially of the Lord's Day — and
under such circumstances exhorts all, who are able, to
receive it as the first food in the day,3 thinks also that a
temperate meal may be sanctified by the Holy Sacrament
following after it, according to the apostolic precept,
" Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God ;" 4 and according to our Lord's example ;
and that the domestic table may be hallowed, and domestic
love and unity may be cherished and strengthened thereby ;
and she also deems that the Holy Communion is, as it were,
the apex and crown of Christian worship, and she seems
rather to recommend, by the structure of her services, which
lead the worshipper upward by a long and gradual ascent of
3 This is the advice of Jeremy Taylor, who has often been appealed
to in this matter. In giving this advice in his " Worthy Communicant,"
(chap. vii. sec. 1) and in his " Holy Living " (chap. iv. sec. 9) and
" Life of Christ " (sec. xv. discourse xix.), he is addressing himself to
those whom he supposes to communicate early in the morning. It must
he remembered also that he wrote when the authority of the Church
was silenced, and men were left free to follow their own wills, and after
all he says, " No rule can be given to all persons."
4 1 Cor. x.
Law and Usage of our own Church. 153
preparatory litanies, intercessions, lauds and thanksgivings.,
to the Holy Eucharist, as their glorious consummation, that
it should be administered later in the day.
This being the case, she has not ventured to prescribe
fasting to her Clergy or her People as a necessary pre
requisite for the administration and reception of the Holy
Communion.
As to her Clergy, what, let us ask, would be the effect, if
she were to do so ? Take the case of a conscientious
English parish priest, living at some distance from his
parish church. He rises early on Sunday morning, and
after his private devotions he gathers his household
together for family prayer. He then goes forth to his
Sunday School, which he opens with Prayer, and he gives
an exposition of the Collect, Gospel, or Epistle of the Day.
He then walks to Church, where he says Morning Prayer
and Litany, and preaches a sermon, and administers the
Holy Communion; and afterwards he walks back to the
parsonage at about one o'clock in the afternoon. Is he to
be told that he must do all this without breaking his fast
since midnight,5 and that if he does taste food he is guilty of
violating the laws of the Catholic Church ? Are we to lay
this snare for the tender conscience of a devout and holy
man of God, and either to oblige him to hurt his health, and
render himself unfit to serve God and do good to his flock,
or else destroy his peace of mind by telling him that he is a
traitor to the Church ? 6
The law of the Church is the law of Christ ; and the law
of Christ is love. And our Lord, Who condemned the
Pharisees for blaming His disciples when they walked
through the corn-fields on a Sabbath Day and plucked the
ears of corn and ate them when they were hungry,7 and Who
would not send away the multitudes fasting from the desert-
5 The starting-point fixed for the previous fasting by the Koman
Church. — Trent Cat. pt. ii. c. 4, qu. 44.
6 The Bishop of Bombay, Dr. Mylne, has told me that it would be
impossible in India to enforce fasting before Communion ; and he has
authorized me to state this publicly.
7 Matt. xii. 1—8.
1 54 Miscellanies.
place, lest they should faint by the way,8 but worked a
miracle to feed them, would not censure those who tem
perately and sparingly satisfy the cravings of nature, which
is His work, in order to do Him service ; but would rather
blaine those who would set aside the higher law of charity,
on the plea of zeal for a ritual law which does not oblige
those on whom they would impose it.
It may be said that the answer to all this is, Let the parish
priest have early Communion. Doubtless, he will have often
an early celebration ; but this cannot be his practice always,
if he desires to gather round the Lord's Table a goodly
number of communicants ; and the Church of England seems
to contemplate that the Holy Communion will follow Morning
Prayer.
But we may go further. We need not scruple to say that
members of the Church of England who, on the plea of
reverence for the authority of the ancient Church, require
fasting as a condition of administering and receiving the
Holy Communion, not only set themselves up against the
authority of the Church of England, which, for the most part,
administers the Holy Communion at mid-day, on Sundays,
but even against that ancient Church to which they appeal.
For what do such persons do ? They change Sunday from
a festival into a fast-day, and would require others to do the
same. They quote Tertullian and Augustine in behalf of
fasting Communion; let them, therefore, listen to those
doctors of the ancient Church. The one 9 says that it is
" nefas " to fast on the Lord's Day, and the other * declares
that it is " scandalum magnum " to do so ; and the ancient
Church declared that if a person ventured to fast on the
Lord's Day he ought to be excommunicated,2 and not
be allowed to come to the Lord's Table.
8 Matt. xv. 32.
9 Tertullian, De Corona, c. 3 : " Die Dominico jejunium nefas
ducimus."
1 S. Augustine, Epist. cxv. Cp. S. Ambrose, Epist. xxiii.
2 Canon Apostol., 56 : Ei TIS tcXypucbs fvpiffrj rf)v KvpiaKrjv rjp.fpav
vr}(TTfva>v, Ka0aipfi(r6<0, eav 8f AaiKoy i;, d<popi£f(r0a>. In the epistles
of the so-called Ignatius ad Philipp. c. 13, such a person is called
XOIOTOKTOVOS.
Practical conchision. 1 5 5
On the whole then, we come to this conclusion. The
Eucharist is a feast of love. Let us not separate ourselves
from one another, but let us be joined together there in
communion with one another in Him. Let us remember
Him who said, " I will have mercy, and not sacrifice." 3 Let
not him that fasteth judge him that fasteth not. Temperance
and sobriety do not disqualify a man from Communion ; but
censoriousness and spiritual pride do. " Let all your things
be done with charity." " Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfil the law of Christ."
Next, let us carefully avoid anything which would have
the least tendency to frustrate or to hinder the fulfilment of
our Lord's earnest desire and command, that all men should
receive the Holy Communion. If in the parishes of the
Church of England, where the Communion is administered
mostly at mid-day, we impose fasting as a condition of
Communion, the inevitable result will be that we shall drive
away many, who now communicate, from the Lord's Table,
and we shall repel many from coming who otherwise would
communicate ; and thus, by rigid rules of our own making,
we should be acting in a spirit of resistance and rebellion
against Christ and the Church.
Next, while in all matters of doctrine we hold to the one
unchangeable faith, taught in Scripture and set forth in the
Creeds, and professed by the ancient Catholic Church ; and
while we teach that the blessed Sacraments, dispensed freely
and fully by an Apostolical ministry, are generally necessary
to salvation, let us firmly adhere to the principle set forth in
our own Book of Common Prayer/ that "Every country
should use such ceremonies as they shall think best to the
setting forth of God's honour and glory," and that " Every 5
particular, or national, Church hath authority to ordain,
change, and abolish ceremonies or rules of the Church,
ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done
3 Matt. ix. 13 ; xii. 7.
4 " Of Ceremonies, why some be abolished and some retained." This
is no other than the principle laid down by S. Jerome, Epist. liii., ad
Lucinium : " Unaqugeque provincia abundet in sensu suo, et praecepta
majorum leges apostolicas arbitretur."
8 Article XXXIV.
156 Miscellanies.
to edifying." " We make not our childish appeals " (in
ritual matters) says Hooker,6 " sometimes from our own
Church to foreign Churches, sometimes also from both unto
Churches ancienter than both are ; in effect always from all
others to our own selves. We had rather glorify and bless
God for the fruit we daily behold reaped by such ordinances
as His gracious Spirit enableth the ripe wisdom of this
national Church to bring forth ; and as becometh them that
follow with all humility the ways of peace, we honour,
reverence, and obey, in the very next degree unto God, the
voice of the Church of God wherein we live."
If any one wishes for further information on " Fasting
Communion," let me recommend to him the work with that
title, by the Kev. H. T. Kingdon, 2nd ed., 1875.
ON NON- COMMUNICATING ATTENDANCE.
THE actual reception of the Holy Communion appears to
be endangered by another practice which is now recommended
by many, and even enforced by some, namely, what is com
monly called " non-communicating attendance," or " spiritual
communion," and which in Continental Churches has assumed
the form of what is called "perpetual adoration of the carnal
presence of Christ upon the altar."
Our Blessed Lord, when He instituted that Holy Sacra
ment, said to His disciples, " Drink ye all of this," and it is
expressly stated in the Gospel that " they all drank of it." *
The custom of the Primitive Church is thus described by
Justin Martyr : 2 ' ' After the consecration, the bread and
wine that have been blessed are given to every one3 that is
6 Hooker, V. Ixxi. 7 ; ibid., V. xxx. 4, he says, " From their Ordinary
they appeal to themselves."
1 Matt. xxvi. 27. Mark xiv. 23.
2 S. Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 65 and 67.
3 tKaoTO) (c. 65). This word is repeated by him in c. 67, and there
he expressly says that the consecrated elements are distributed to all
present, and that all partake of them : 17 Sta'Soo-t? KOI f} nfraXrf^ts «a'oTa>
ylyvertu.
On non- communicating attendance. 157
present. In the words of a celebrated Eoman Catholic litur
gical writer, Cardinal Bona,4 "It is certain that in the first
ages of the Church, all the faithful, having one heart and
one mind, continued steadfastly in breaking of bread, as the
Acts of the Apostles testify,5 nor was any one permitted to be
present at the sacred mysteries who could not offer and partake
of the mysteries, except those who were under penance ; and
therefore ( non-communicating attendance,' was in fact like
a stigma of shame and a ban of excommunication." The
law and custom of the Primitive Church to this effect are
stated with clearness and fulness by our own learned writer
on " Ecclesiastical Antiquities," Joseph Bingham.6
It is remarkable that some who would impose upon us
what is called " fasting Communion" as a matter of neces
sity, on a pip, of reverential obedience to the ancient. Church,
are also found to recommend, and even to require, " non-
communicating attendance," in opposition to the law and
practice of the ancient Church, and to the command of Christ
Himself. And this is done even on a pretext of reverence
4 Cardinal Bona, Rerum Liturg. lib. II. cxvii. sec. 2. The same
is stated by another Roman Catholic writer, Pamelius, ad Tertullian.
De Oratione, c. 19: " Omnes " (those under penance excepted) " qui
Missa3 intererant, soliti erant sumere sacram Eucharistiam." Those of
the faithful who came into the church and heard the Scriptures read, but
did not communicate, were excommunicated by the ninth Apostolic Canon
(Patr. Apost. Coteler, i. 442). A good deal has been written lately on
this canon. It must, I think, be interpreted as condemning those who
turn their backs on the Lord's Table and leave the church, as much as
those who remain and do not communicate. John Wesley, in his sermon
" On Constant Communion," refers to this canon, and says, " With the first
Christians the Christian sacrifice was a constant part of the Lord's Day
service Their opinion of those who turned their back upon it may
be gathered from the ancient canon : ' If any believer join in the prayers
of the faithful, and go away without receiving the Lord's Supper, let him
be excommunicated, as bringing confusion upon the Church of God.' "
An eminent liturgical writer of our own, Archdeacon Freeman (Prin
ciples of Divine Service, i. 388), says that " non-communicating attend
ance is utterly at variance with the mind of primitive times, and of the
Ordinance itself." Let me invite the reader's careful attention here to
the Rev. W. E. Scudamore's learned volume, Notitia Eucharistica,
chap. xiii. London, 1872.
5 Acts ii. 42.
6 See Bingham, Book XV. chap. iv.
158 Miscellanies.
•
for the Holy Sacrament, and for Christ himself. Who insti
tuted it, not in order to be looked at, but to be received,
according to His express command.
But all such pleas of reverence are rebuked and rejected
by Him who said, " Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not
the things which I say ? " 7
That the Church of England desires and intends that all
her members who have been baptized and confirmed should
come to the Holy Communion, and that all who are present
at the administration of the Communion should communi
cate, appears to be certain.
In papal times in England, as in Roman Catholic countries
now, many were present at the Mass who did not receive,
except once a year — at Easter. And the Church of Eng
land at the Reformation did not, and could ^not, at once
change that state of things ; but she showed clearly what
her mind was in this matter. She abandoned the word Mass,
which is not older than the fourth century, and she restored
the terms used by St. Paul, the "Lord's Supper,"8 "Com
munion,"9 and the "Lord's Table"1 which are meaningless
to those who are not partakers of the spiritual food set be
fore them in the Holy Eucharist. She began with inviting
the communicants to approach the Holy Table and to take
their places in the choir,8 and by commanding the rest to
depart from it. In the twenty-fifth Article she declares her
judgment that ' ' the Sacraments were not ordained of Christ
to be gazed upon, but that we should duly use them/' And
in the Prayer Books of 1552 and of 1559 and 1604 and
1637,3 in the exhortation after the Prayer for the Church
militant, the minister, if he saw the people negligent in
i Luke vi. 46. 8 1 Cor. xi. 20.
» 1 Cor. x. 16. » 1 Cor. x. 21.
3 Kubric after the Offertory in King Edward the Sixth's first Prayer
Book.
3 It seems that these strong sentences produced their desired effect,
so far as to deter persons from remaining in church during the time of
the administration, without communicating ; for, though repeated in the
editions of the Prayer Book from 1552 to 1637, they do not appear in
the Prayer Book of the next and final revision, that of 1662. And this
agrees with the statement of Bishop Cosin, 1652, quoted below, p. 159-60.
Language of the Church. 159
coming to the Communion, was enjoined to say, " Whereas
ye offend God so sore in refusing this holy banquet, I ad
monish, exhort, and beseech you, that to this unkindness ye
will not add any more ; which thing ye shall do, if ye stand
by as gazers and lookers on them that do communicate, and
be no partakers of the same yourselves. For what thing
can this be accounted else than a further contempt and
unkindness unto God ? Truly it is a great unthankfulness
to say nay, when ye are called ; but the fault is much greater
when men stand by and yet will neither eat nor drink this
Holy Communion with others. I pray you, what can this
be else than but even to have the mysteries of Christ in
derision ? It is said unto all, ' Take ye, and eat ; Take, and
drink ye all of this;' 'Do this in remembrance of Me/
With what face then, and with what countenance shall ye
hear these words ? What will this be else but a neglecting
and despising and mocking of the Testament of Christ?
Wherefore, rather than ye should do so, depart you hence
and give place to them that be godly disposed."4 And in
the Second Book of Homilies, published in 1562,5 it is said
that " Our loving Saviour hath ordained and established the
remembrance of His great mercy expressed in His Passion
in the institution of His heavenly Supper, where every one of
us must be guests, and not gazers ; eaters, and not lookers.
To this His commandment f orceth us saying, ' Do ye this ;
drink ye all of this/ To this His promise enticeth, ' This is
My Body, which is given for you : this is My Blood, which
is shed for you/ So then we must be ourselves partakers
of this Table and not beholders of other/'
Besides, the whole of her Service after the Prayer for the
4 Bishop Cosin (in his notes on the Book of Common Prayer, Works,
vol. v. p. 99) says that these words are a " religious invective against
the irreligious custom of the people then nursed up in Popery, to be
present at the Communion, and to let the priest communicate for them
all ; from whence arose the abuse of private masses — a practice so repug
nant to the Scripture, and to the use of the Primitive Church, that not
any but the Romish Church throughout all the Christian world are
known to use it."
5 Homily XV. p. 409, ed. Oxford, 1822 : " On the worthy receiving of
the Lord's Supper."
1 60 Miscellanies.
Church militant is so framed as to be applicable only to
actual communicants. It cannot reasonably be used by
others. And in her rubrics in the Office, she contemplates
that all present will communicate. Thus she says, " This
general Confession shall be made in the name of all that are
minded to receive the Communion by one of the ministers ;
all the people kneeling, and saying," — where it is evident
that they who communicate are synonymous with " all the
people," and that therefore there are none present who do
not communicate. And again she says, "The minister
shall first receive the Communion in both kinds himself,
and then proceed to deliver the same to the bishops, priests,
and deacons, in like manner (if any be present), and after
that to the people also in order." And again, " If the
consecrated bread and wine be all spent before all have
communicated, then he is to consecrate more ;" and again,
" When all have communicated, the minister shall return to
the Lord's Table."
If now it be necessary to appeal to a credible witness of
the mind of the Church of England in this question of
"Non- communicating attendance," we may cite the words
of one whose authority in the liturgical matters of our own
and other Churches stands deservedly high, Bishop Cosin,
in the middle of the seventeenth century, who, in his
treatise on the religion, discipline, and ritual of the Church
of England, written in 1652, describes the Order of the
administration of the Holy Eucharist in the Church of
England, and says, "After the Prayer for the Church
militant, those persons who are not about to communicate
with us are dismissed out of the Church."
0 Bishop Cosin's words are, " postea, qui nobiscum communicaturi non
sunt, emittuntur foras" (Bishop Cosin, Works, iv. 359, ed. Oxford,
1851). It has indeed been attempted by some to evade the force of this
statement, by suggesting that Bishop Cosin meant only to say that non-
communicants were ordered to withdraw from the chancel into the body
of the church : but " emittuntur foras" can only signify "they are sent
forth out of doors :" and next, at the time to which Bishop Cosin refers
(his tract was written A.D. 1652), the Holy Table itself, in most parish
churches, stood not in the chancel, but in the body of the church,. See
Canon of 1640, Canon VII.
If the question of the proper time of withdrawal of non-communicants
On " spiritual communion" 1 6 1
The condition of other Churches appears to show the
wisdom of the Church of England in this respect.
No one who observes the present condition of some
foreign Churches, can doubt that the encouragement of
what is called " spiritual communion," and " perpetual
adoration/' without communicating, has tended to supplant
and supersede the actual reception of the Holy Communion,
and also to confirm the erroneous dogma of transubstantia-
tion j and may therefore be not uncharitably called a device
of the Evil One acting with insidious subtlety by means of
persons having holy intentions in their minds, and holy
words in their mouths, and endeavouring, by their agency,,
to alter and impair the Divine character of the Holy
Eucharist, and to deprive the Church of the heavenly
nourishment which Christ bestows in that Holy Sacrament.
But anything that is a breach of Christ's law cannot be
otherwise than offensive to Him. And this growing practice
of " non-communicating attendance " calls also for solemn
warning, as tending to laxity of life. It is liable to
become a compromise between God and the World, and
seeks to reconcile the two. Actual reception of the Holy
Communion has this practical benefit among others, that it
demands previous strict self-examination, and godly repent
ance, and the forsaking of sin, and holy resolutions of
amendment, as indispensable pre-requisites for that reception.
But " spiritual communion " and " adoration " require no
is to be discussed, it may be submitted whether the best break in the
Service would not be between the " missa catechumenorum " and the
" missa fidelium," immediately after the offertory sentences, and before the
oblation, when the proper Eucharistic Service begins. It certainly is to
be regretted that the placing of the bread and wine on the Holy Table
by the priest, and the prayer for the reception of the oblation, should be
a signal to any of the faithful to withdraw from partaking of it. Bishop
Cosins himself (in " Additional Notes on the Communion Service," in
Dr. Nichols' edition of the Common Prayer, ed. 1712, p. 41) quotes Dio-
nysius, who says, " after the catechumens are dismissed, they that are the
principal ministers with the priest place the holy bread and cup of bene
diction on the sacred, altar ;" and again, " after the missa catechumenorum
the catechumens go out of the church and they that are under penance,
and they only remain who are deserving to behold the sacred things, and
to partake of them.'" Dionys. Eccl. Hier., cap. 3 ; Cone. Laod., c. 19.
VOL. II. M
1 6 2 Miscellanies.
such previous preparation. They exact no turning away from
the world, the flesh, and the devil with remorse and shame,
and turning to God with the whole heart ; and yet he who
spiritually communicates and adores is nattered by others and
perhaps by himself with the fond imagination that he is per
forming a religious exercise of the highest and holiest devotion.
Verily, as the wise man says, " There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." 7
In what has now been said let me not be supposed to
deny that there may be cases where presence at the Holy
Communion may be allowable without actual communion.
And therefore it would not be desirable that a rigid rule
were enacted and enforced, compelling all to withdraw who
do not intend to communicate ; provided that such a rule
were not rendered necessary as a safeguard against the
great danger, which seems not unlikely to arise from the
recommendation, and in some cases the enforcement, of
" non-communicating attendance," as a law of the Church.
And further, while we are bound to utter a protest
against " non-communicating attendance," let us not forget
to humble and condemn ourselves for our own unthankful-
ness, and for the lamentable spectacle which is presented in
our churches by crowds of professing Christians on the
Lord's Day, turning their backs on the Lord's Table, at the
very time when the spiritual food, with which He feeds
our souls, is placed upon it. Let us not flatter them that
they are safe. Let us not speed them forth from the Church
with joyous music, and with words of peace. No ; rather they
may be said to be almost excommunicating themselves, and
they ought to hear a solemn warning and wholesome reproof
from us.
If the present controversy on " non-communicating
attendance " should have the good effect of teaching those
who depart from the Holy Communion to consider their
own spiritual danger, as well as to deter those who remain
from imagining that they can do so safely without
communicating, it may, by the goodness of Gad, be
overruled for a blessing to His Church.
" Prov. xiv. 12.
On Temperance Societies. 163
ON THE USE OF THE UNPEEMENTED JUICE OF THE VINE IN THE
HOLY COMMUNION; WITH SOME PREFATORY WOEDS ON TEM
PERANCE SOCIETIES.
THE Church herself is the true Temperance Society. She
knows that Temperance cannot be rightly taught unless it
be grounded on the Incarnation of Christ. She admits to
membership at Baptism with a solemn vow of temperance ;
and she supplies constraining motives for keeping that vow,
in the doctrines which she teaches, that our bodies are
temples of the Holy Ghost, and that whosoever defileth
the' temple of God him will God destroy ; l and that they
are members of Christ the Holy One;2 and that they have
been bought by His blood ; 3 and that they will be raised
by Him from the dead, and, that according as our bodies
have been used by us in this world, so will they be mise
rable and shameful, or happy and glorious, for ever.4
Almighty God also enables us by her instrumentality to
keep that vow, because He authorizes and empowers her to
dispense grace (which cannot be done by any other society)
— by means of prayer, and the hearing of God's Word read
and preached, and by the ministration of the Holy Com
munion of the Body and Blood of Christ.
And if, through human frailty, we break that vow of
temperance, the Church is authorized to restore us (which
no other society is competent to do), on our sincere re
pentance and resolution of amendment, by the ministry of
reconciliation,5 and by the cleansing virtue of Christ's Body
and Blood in that Blessed Sacrament.
Again, be it remembered, that to reclaim the intemperate
is very difficult, but to deter men from becoming intem
perate is not so hard a thing ; and this is the special office
of the Church ; and she performs her work by virtue of that
special power and agency with which she is endued by God.
Prevention is not only better than cure, but it is far easier
also.
1 1 Cor. iii. 17 ; vi. 19. * 1 Cor. vi. 16.
3 1 Cor. vi. 20; vii. 23. Gal. iii. 13. 4 Gal v. 8.
5 2 Cor. v. 18.
M 2
1 64 Miscellanies.
Let us also consider that temperance and total absti
nence, when practised with earthly views (such as health
and wealth, or comfort or respectability of character and
worldly fame), and when not grounded on the faith, fear,
and love of God, and on dependence upon His grace, are not
pleasing in His sight, but are dead works, and will receive
no reward hereafter from Him.
It is to be regretted that some Temperance Societies
make a total abstinence pledge to be a condition of member
ship. The enforcement of such a pledge is liable to serious
objections; it is not unlikely to be broken; and so it
will become a snare to the conscience, and may pro
duce indifference and recklessness to truth. It is not also
unfrequently associated with a spirit of self-righteousness,
and tends to the heresy against which St. Paul protested
when he blamed those who forbad to marry, although he
commended voluntary celibacy ; 6 and whom he censured for
"commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath
created to be received with thanksgiving;"7 and when
he asserted that " every creature of God is good and nothing
to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is
sanctified by the Word of God and prayer." 8
Such an imposition of a vow of total abstinence seems
to be repugnant to Holy Scripture. It is tantamount
to a condemnation of one of God's creatures, and to an
assumption that we are wiser than the Creator Himself.
Wine is one of God's creatures. We call it by that name
in the most solemn Office of the Church, that for the Holy
Communion, where wine is a representative oblation of God's
creatures, and where we say, " Grant that we, receiving
these Thy creatures of Bread and Wine, may be partakers of
Christ's most blessed Body and Blood."
We can hardly be said to believe the Bible, if we pro
scribe the temperate use of wine. Holy Scripture says
6 1 Cor. vii. 7, 8; and S. Ignatius, the disciple of St. John, while he
owns the advantage of single life, yet says " Do not impose the yoke of
celibacy on any one." Fragment vi.
7 1 Tim. iv. 3.
8 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5.
Enforcement of total abstinence. \ 6 5
that " Wine9 maketh glad the heart of man" (Ps. civ. 15).
And if wine is to be condemned and proscribed, how is it
that our Blessed Lord chose wine as the subject-matter with
which to work His first miracle, and to show forth the glory
of His Godhead, by changing water into it at Cana of
Galilee ? * How is it, also, that Christ chose wine as one of
God's creatures to be sanctified for ever in the adminis
tration of the Holy Communion, and said, " Drink ye all of
this" (Matt. xxvi. 27); and commanded it to be, received
by all the faithful in every age and country, in that Blessed
Sacrament, even till He comes again ?
The condemnation of wine developed itself in extra
vagant proportions in Manichaeanism, against which the
Church struggled vehemently, and which she condemned
solemnly in such canons as these : " If any clergyman ab
stains from wine, not for the sake of discipline, but in a
spirit of detestation of wine, forgetting that all God's
creatures are good, and pronouncing censure on creation,
lot him repent, or be deposed and excommunicated; and a
9 Ps. civ. 15. It is observable that the original Hebrew word here used
is yayin, the same word as is used to describe the beverage as intoxicating
in Gen. ix. 21 — 24 (concerning Noah) ; xix. 22 (concerning Lot) ; Levit.
x. 9 ; Num. vi. 3, 4 — 20 (concerning the Nazarite) ; Judg. xiii. 4 ; 1 Sam.
xxv. 37 (concerning Nabal) ; Prov. xx. 1, " Wine is a mocker ; '" Isa. v. 11,
12—22. This refutes the arguments of some who say that whenever wine
is commended in Scripture as innocent, it is new wine, unfermented, not
intoxicating, Hebr. tirosh. But even tirosh is said to intoxicate, Hosea
iv. 11, and as Gesenius observes, Lex. p. 370 and 863, the word tirosh is
derived from y&rash, to take possession of, i. e. the brain, to intoxicate ;
and when the Apostles were said to be full of new wine (Acts ii. 13), it,
was tantamount to saying, they were drunken, in St. Peter's opinion.
1 It has been alleged, indeed, that the wine into which Our Lord
changed the water in the six water-pots at Cana (John ii. 6—9) was of
such a kind, that it would not inebriate, however much of it was drunk.
It is said that it is incredible that Christ should have tempted the
guests to sin by making 120 gallons of wine, and by commanding it to
be served for their me. But this allegation is groundless. It seems
to be forgotten that the wine is expressly said to have been good
wine (ii. 10), and that much of it was probably preserved for future
use, and as a continual proof and memorial of the miracle, and to serve for
effectual means of diffusing the knowledge of the Divine Power and Love
of Christ.
1 66 Miscellanies.
layman also."2 And again, "We solemnly charge all to
abstain from intemperance; not that we altogether forbid
any to drink wine, for this would be to deal insolently with
what God has given to man for gladness of heart/ but that,
according to the Holy Scripture, they be not guilty of
excess."
The judgment of the primitive Church in this matter is
well summed up by Tertullian,4 although inclined to ascetism,
" We are thankful to God, the Lord and Creator of all ; we
repudiate no fruit of His work, but we practise temperance
lest we should abuse it."
In the present day some persons condemn others as
causing scandal by not abstaining from wine and other
fermented drinks; but the Primitive Church, while she
encouraged temperance, condemned those as causing scandal,
who abstained from them as if they were evil. The declara-
ration of the Churches of Lyons and Yienne in the second
century on this subject deserves attention.5
Much confusion was caused by the Manichaeans with
regard to the administration of the Holy Communion ; they
were guilty of abuses in reference to the Eucharistic cup,
which they condemned ; and the Ancient Church directed
its censures against them.8 The Manichseans did not reject
the juice of the grape, but they condemned wine. In the
words of St. Augustine,7 concerning them, "What per-
verseness is it, to feel no scruple as to grapes, and yet to
call wine the gall of the Prince of Darkness ? " And again,
2 Canones Apostol., Canon xlii. ed. Beveridge ; Canon 1. ed. Bruns. ;
and see Canon lii. ibid. Patres Apost. i. 449, Coteler.
3 Constitut. Apostol. viii. 44, p. 425.
4 Tertul. Apol. 42.
6 See it in Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. v. 3, where the Churches say in their
Epistle concerning the Martyrs, that when one of that number, Alcibiades,
practised austerity, living on bread and water, and continued to do so
in prison after his first conflict with wild beasts in the amphitheatre, it
was revealed in a vision to Attalus that Alcibiades did not well in not
making use of God's creatures, and in giving an example of scandal to
others ; and that after this Alcibiades changed his diet, and received God's
creatures with thankfulness.
6 S. Leo, Serin, xli. vol. i. p. 106, ed. Lugdun. 1700.
7 De Moribus Manicha'orum, sect. 44, vol. i. p. 1182, ed. Paris.
Unfermented juice of the grape. 167
" They regard it as sacrilege to touch wine, as if it were a
creature of the Evil One, and therefore an impure thing,
although they willingly taste the fruit of the vine." 8 And
therefore when they came to the Holy Communion they
made a feint of drinking the wine from the consecrated cup,
but they secretly ejected it from their mouths.9
It is to be feared that the enforcement of the total
abstinence pledge as a condition of membership of
Temperance Societies may engender strife with regard to
the Holy Communion; and may lead to a schism in the
holiest of Temperance Societies, the Church, and this, in
reference to her holiest act, the Holy Communion.
Some who say that we ought to pledge ourselves to
abstain from wine as an evil thing, add that we ought least
of all to partake of that evil thing at the Lord's Table.
And therefore they recommend, and would even enforce
the use of the unfermented juice of the grape for the
Eucharistic cup in the Holy Communion. They say that the
word wine is not mentioned by the Evangelists in the history
of the institution of the Holy Communion, but only the
fruit of the vine; and they thence infer that the unfermented
juice of the grape ought to be used at the Holy Eucharist.
The question is now assuming a serious importance, and
is likely to cause much strife, because a large number of
well-intentioned persons have announced their resolve not
to communicate unless this unfermented juice of the vine,
which (they say) cannot intoxicate, is ministered to them at
that Holy Sacrament.
What shall we say to these allegations ?
It is certain that the Wine which was used by our Blessed
Lord at the Institution of the Holy Communion was such
wine as might intoxicate.
The Holy Communion was instituted at the Passover, that
is, in the early spring, in the month Nisan, nearly a year
after the vintage, and could not have been unfermented
8 S. Augustine De Hseresibus, sect. 46, vol. viii. p. 51, and Contra
Faustum, xvi. 31, and xx. 13.
9 See Bp. Andrewes ad Bellarmin. responsio, p. 190, or p. 258, ed.
Oxford, 1851.
1 6 8 Miscellan ies.
wine. And the ancient Jewish authorities, who write on the
Passover, testify that it would intoxicate?
Our Lord called it the fruit of the Vine as being real wine.1
It is certain also that in the days of the Apostles what was
ministered in the Cup of Blessing at the Holy Communion
was wine which could intoxicate. We learn this from St.
Paul.3 And the sub-apostolic Father, Justin Martyr, states
that at the Holy Communion consecrated bread and wine
were ministered to all.4 And the fact that the Manichasans
rejected it proves the same thing. In the Apostolic Canons,
Canon the third, a Clergyman who celebrated with any
thing instead of wine (oti/o?) was to be deposed.
It is certain also that fermentation is a natural process, and
so a work of God ; and it would be as reasonable to reject the
use of bread in the Communion, because it is not the unfer-
mented produce of wheat, as to proscribe wine because it is
not the unfermented juice of the grape. It augurs ill for
those who thus act that they should be helping the Church
of Rome, which denies the cup to the laity ; and should
trouble the peace of the Church of God by such an innova
tion as this.5 To whom we say with St. Paul, " We have no
such custom, nor the Churches of God." 6 (1 Cor. xi. 16.)
They say, indeed, that we who use fermented wine in the
Holy Communion may be right, but that they who use un
fermented cannot be wrong; as if it were not one of the
1 See Mishna, torn. ii. pp. 172 — 175, ed. Surenhus. ; Tract. Pesachim,
cap. vii. 13 ; cap. x. 1, and Lightfoot's Works, i. 960—963.
2 Cp. Concil. Trullan. can. 32. Ridley, Life of Bp. Ridley, p. 337, 496.
3 1 Cor. xi. 20.
* S. Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 61 and 67, p. 266 and 270, ed. Otto, Jenae,
1842.
& The suggestion of the promoters of this plan is thus expressed by one
of themselves : — " Instead of having two cups, and one part of the church
supplied with alcoholic liquor and another part with unferraented wine,
would it not be far better that the whole service be conducted with unfer
mented wine, in which the whole congregation can join r "
6 Thomas Aquinas (Sutnma Theolog. lib. iii. c. 74, Art. 6) has been
quoted as an advocate for the use of unfermented wine at the Holy Com
munion. It may be observed that the partisans of that practice have so
little authority to plead in its behalf, that they are reduced to appeal to a
mediaeval schoolman. And that all that even he says is, that in case of
necessity the juice of the grape may be used.
Preventives of Intemperance. 1 69
most wrong tilings in the world, to distract the Church by
schism/ and to make the Holy Communion, which is the
feast of love, to become an occasion of strife.
A few more words on the general question of Temperance-
We have reason to be thankful that a Select Committee
of the House of Lords has been appointed with a view to
legislation for the restraint of Intemperance. We cannot
indeed make men sober by Acts of Parliament, but we can
take away temptations to drunkenness. It seems to me that
the problem to be solved by all sound Legislation is this — to
combine the minimum of temptation to do evil with the
maximum of liberty to do good. We can help to remove
the stigma on our Nation, that it seeks to enrich itself by
the misery and crime of the people. We can help the
Legislature to improve the Licensing Acts ; and to promote
their proper application, especially on the Lord's Day, with
regard to the hours of sale, and the number and character of
places of sale of liquors. Why should other shops be shut
on that day, and public-houses and beer-shops enjoy a
monopoly of open-ness ? It would surely suffice that they
should be enabled to supply those who desire it, at a certain
hour, with refreshment to be carried home to their families,
but they ought not to be allowed to be resorts for idleness and
vice on that holy day. Let more efforts be made to check
adulteration, which is a prolific source of drunkenness ; for
it is as much the quality of what is drunk, as the quantity,
that produces intoxication. They who make or sell drinks
for the people are under a solemn responsibility before God.
They who adulterate them with deleterious drugs are
desecrating God's creatures by a double sacrilege. They
are desecrating the thing which is drunken, which is a
creature of God ; and they are desecrating the person who
drinks, who is a temple of God.
Some other salutary restrictions may be imposed by law ;
and the penalties on drunkenness may be made more severe,
and more ignominious, and may be enforced more rigidly.
Other beverages may be reduced as much as possible in
price by the repeal or abatement of duties upon them. An
1 70 Miscellanies.
inquiry should be instituted as to whether Grocers' licences
to sell intoxicating liquors have not been injurious.
Other secondary agencies may do much. The removal of
Benefit Clubs, Friendly Clubs, and Burial Clubs from
Public-houses and Beer-shops; the diminution of their
number ; the total discontinuance of paying wages on Satur
days and in Public-houses; the encouragement of cottage
allotments ; and of Night Schools; the provision of Parochial
Libraries, of Workmen's Clubs, of Tea-rooms and Coffee-
rooms, for social and instructive meetings ; of healthful re
creations, such as Cricket and Football; the provision of
better dwellings for the working classes, with a good supply
of air, light, and water, ; and the better education of girls
in women's household works, so that they may be better
daughters and better wives and better mothers ; such things
as these, or at least some of them, are in our own reach,
and have already been adopted by many with success.
ON CONFIKMATION, THE DUTY OF COMING TO IT, AND THE
BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FKOM IT.
OUR Blessed Lord promised to His Apostles, that, after He
had gone away from them and had ascended into heaven,
He would send to them the Holy Ghost, to teach them all
things, and to guide them into all truth, and to abide with
them for ever.1
Whatsoever therefore was afterwards done by the Holy
Apostles, for the bestowal of spiritual grace, and for the
salvation of men's souls, was done according to the will of
Christ, and under the guidance and teaching of the Holy
Ghost.
We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that, after the As
cension of Christ, and after the Coming of the Holy Ghost
from heaven, the Gospel was preached in Samaria by Philip,
who was one of the seven Deacons ; 2 and that many were
1 John xiv. 26 ; xvi. 13 ; xiv. 16.
2 Acts viii. 5—13. Cp. Acts vi. 5 ; xxi. 8.
On Confirmation. 1 7 1
baptized by him there; and that "when the Apostles, who were
then at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the Word
of God, they sent unto them two of their own number, the
Apostles St. Peter and St. John,8 who, when they had come
down to Samaria, prayed for them who had been baptized,
that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet He was
fallen upon none of them ; only they were baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. Then the Apostles Peter and John
laid their hands upon them ; and they received the Holy
Ghost/'
These words are in the Acts of the Apostles, which is a
part of Holy Scripture, written for our learning by the Holy
Ghost.
Hence it appears,
1. That a special gift was bestowed by God, on those
who had been baptized, and for whom the Apostles
prayed, and on whom they laid their hands ; and
that this gift is called in Scripture the Gift of the
Holy Ghost.
2. That, inasmuch as two of the Apostles, St. Peter and
St. John, were sent by the rest of the Apostles from
Jerusalem to Samaria, where Philip then was ; and
inasmuch as they were sent for the purpose of dis
pensing the gift of the Holy Ghost, this gift was
bestowed by God through the ministry of the Apostles,
and not of any other inferior ministers of the Church.
Accordingly we find it recorded in another chapter of the
same portion of Holy Scripture, that another of the Apostles,
St. Paul, laid his hands on those who had been baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and that they received the
Holy Ghost.4
The Apostles were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Christ
sent the Holy Ghost from heaven to teach them all things,
and to guide them into all truth.
What, therefore, was done by the Apostles in this matter,
and what the Holy Ghost Himself records in Holy Scripture
as having been done by them, was not done by them of their
3 Acts viii. 14. ' Acts xix. 1 — 6.
172 Miscellanies.
own mind, but by the will of God. It was done by Him,
through them. And He showed that it was His act, by
visible and audible outpourings of the Holy Ghost on those
persons for whom the Apostles prayed, and on whom they
laid their hands. We read in Holy Scripture that Simon
Magus saw that through the laying on of the Apostles'
hands the Holy Ghost was given.8 We read also, that the
persons on whom the Apostle St. Paul laid his hands, spake
ivith tongues and prophesied.6
By these outward manifestations in the first age of the
Church, Almighty God set His own seal on this practice of
the Apostles; who, being taught of God, exercised this
ministry as the proper means for the conveyance of an in
ward gift, called in Holy Scripture the gift of the Holy Ghost,
to the souls of baptized persons, Thus Almighty God com
mended this practice to the permanent use of all future
generations, and made it obligatory on Christians to receive
and maintain it.
The necessity of this reverent use is further evident from
the following considerations : —
St. Paul says that " the gifts of God are without repen
tance ; " 7 that is to say, whatever He has once bestowed for
the attainment of necessary ends, is never withdrawn by Him.
He never repents of having given, and never revokes what
He has once given for our growth in spiritual grace here,
and for our attainment of heavenly glory hereafter.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of this kind. It is as
much required now, as it was in the age of the Holy Apostles.
Man's ghostly enemies are the same as they were then. His
needs of ghostly helps against them are, therefore, as great
now as they were then. Man is the same. Heaven is the
same. Hell is the same. The Holy Ghost is the same. His
love is the same, and His gifts remain the same ; and they
have the same purpose and power, to enable men to escape
hell, and to reach heaven.
Accordingly, we find that our Lord Himself describes the
promised gift of the Holy Ghost as a gift in perpetuity. I
6 Acts viii. 18. fi Acts xix. 6. ' Rom. xi. 29.
On Confirmation. 173
will pray the Father, He says, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.*
Thus, then, we see that the Holy Apostles, being taught
by God, and being guided by Him into all Truth, used cer
tain means for the conveyance of spiritual grace to those
who had been baptized; and that God sanctioned that
Apostolic practice by visible marks of His own approval
and favour.
These means were Prayer and Laying-on of Hands. We
find also in Holy Scripture, that these means are reckoned
by the Holy Spirit, speaking in the Epistle to the Hebrews,
as among ihe first principles of the Doctrine of Christ,9 where
the doctrine of Laying-on of Hands is joined with the doc
trine of Baptism.
We learn also, from some ancient Christian writers, that
the Bishops of the Church, who had been appointed by
the Apostles as their successors, and who knew the mind of
the Apostles, used these same means, and prayed and laid
their hands on those who had been baptized, as the Holy
Apostles had done before them; and that the primitive
Christian Bishops did this for the same purpose as the
Apostles had done, namely, for the conveyance of the gift
of the Holy Ghost to those who had been baptized, and on
whom they laid their hands with prayer. We find that the
earliest Christian Churches, planted by the Apostles, used
these means ; and that this Apostolic practice was called by
them CONFIRMATION, because in it they who had been bap
tized are confirmed and strengthened by the Holy Ghost the
Comforter. We find that these means have been ever used
by the Church of Christ Universal, to which He has pro
mised His perpetual presence,1 and the continual guidance
of His Spirit, and which is called by St. Paul, The Church of
the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth.2 We
find also that these means have been mercifully preserved to
us, by God's goodness, in onr own Church, which, at every
Baptism administered by her to Infants, commands that the
child then baptized shall " be brought to the Bishop, to be
8 John xiv. 16. 9 Heb. vi. 2.
1 Matt, xxviii. 20. 2 1 Tim. iii. 15.
1 74 Miscellanies.
confirmed by him," so soon as the child has been duly cate
chised ; and she declares, in her Office for Confirmation, that
the Laying-on of Hands of the Bishop on those who have
been baptized, is an act done by him " after the example of
the Holy Apostles." And she says, in her Sixtieth Canon
(A.D. 1603), " It hath been a solemn, ancient, and laudable
custom in the Church of God, continued from the Apostles'
times, that all Bishops should 'lay their hands upon children
baptized, and instructed in the Catechism of Christian Religion,
praying over them, and blessing them, — which is commonly
called CONFIRMATION." If any one wishes to see the ancient
authorities on this subject, they may be found in the notes
of my edition of the Greek Testament on Acts viii. 14 — 18 ;
and on Hebrews vi. 2.
Thus, then, we may conclude ; that Almighty God, Who
is the Author and Giver of all Grace, and without Whom
we can do nothing that is pleasing in His sight, vouchsafes
to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost on those who have been
baptized, by the appointed means of Prayer and of the
Laying-on of Hands of the successors of the Holy Apostles,
who were inspired by the Holy Ghost, and who employed
these means, and delivered them to be used by those who
came after them, even to the end. What was thus done by
the Holy Apostles under the guidance and inspiration of the
Holy Ghost, was done by the Holy Ghost, Who guided and
inspired them. And whensoever the Holy Ghost vouchsafes
to appoint and employ certain means for bestowing His own
gifts, we have no right to expect to receive those gifts from
Him, unless we conform ourselves to His will, and use those
means which He has been pleased to institute for their
bestowal. To neglect those means, is to grieve the Holy
Spirit, Who works by them. It is to despise God and Christ,
Who sent the Holy Ghost to teach His Apostles all things,
and to guide them into all truth, and to abide with them for
ever ; and Who said to His Apostles, " He that receiveth
you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him
that sent Me ;3 and whosoever despiseth you despiseth Me,
and whosoever despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me ;
3 Matt. x. 40. Luke x. 16.
On Confirmation.
175
and whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words,
when you depart out of that house or city shake off the dust
of your feet. Verily, I say unto you, it shall be more toler
able for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of
Judgment than for that city."
On the other hani, if we rightly receive those means, we
receive Christ, Who promised to be ever with His Apostles
even unto the end of the world. We receive the Holy Ghost
the Comforter, Who guided the Apostles to use those means
for the bestowal of His own blessed gift to the Christian
soul, for its growth in grace here, and for its everlasting
glory hereafter.
1. Here is one inestimable benefit of Confirmation: the
presence of Christ ; the gift of the Holy Ghost ; the com
fortable assurance, that in obeying God, by a thankful use
of the means appointed by Him for our soul's everlasting
health and happiness, we are conforming ourselves to His
Blessed Will, and may cherish a good hope of receiving fresh
supplies of such blessings as are promised by him to obe
dience. For in keeping His statutes there is great reward;5
and whosoever hath (that is, gladly receives, and makes a
right use of, any of God's gifts) to him shall be given, and
he shall have more abundance ; but whosoever hath not
(that is, does not use what God gives), from him shall be
taken away even that he hath.6
2. But this is not all. Confirmation brings other blessings
with it. It is not enough to believe in Christ. It is
necessary also to confess Him openly before men. With
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation.7 If we do not
publicly own Christ, He will publicly disown us. If we do
not confess Him, when we ought to confess Him, we do in
fact deny Him. And He, who is our future Judge, has said,8
" Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I confess
also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever
shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My
4 Matt. x. 14, 15.
6 Matt. xiii. 12.
8 Matt. x. 32, 33.
8 Ps. xix. 11.
7 Kom. x. 10.
Cp. Luke xii. 8, 9.
1 76 Miscellanies.
Father which is in heaven. Whosoever shall be ashamed of
Me and of My Words, of him also shall the Son of Man be
ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father and of
the Holy Angels." '
Confirmation is the appointed way of confessing Christ
before men. It is administered for this express purpose,
among others, in order that children who have been baptized
in their infancy, and are now come to years of discretion,
may openly, in the presence of God, and before the Church,
confess Him, and acknowledge themselves bound by their
baptismal Vow, and may publicly own Christ as their Lord
and Saviour, and may joyfully declare themselves to be His
servants.1
If, therefore, through carelessness or indifference, or
through false shame and cowardice, we do not come to
Confirmation, we incur the danger of that sentence which
Christ will hereafter pronounce, as He himself has declared,
on those who are ashamed of Him, and of His words. But
if we boldly come forward, and courageously confess Him,
in the sight of men, of angels, and of God ; if we thankfully
take pains to make a good confession ; if, in making it, we
do not fear to encounter shame and reproach from godless
and worldly men, for Christ's sake, and to incur the obloquy
or insults of false Teachers, who despise the means of grace,
and pervert the right ways of the Lord ; 2 if we suffer shame
for Christ, as Christ suffered shame 3 for us ; then we may
rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is our reward in
heaven ; 4 and we may cherish the blessed hope, that Christ
also will confess us as His own at the Great Day, and will
give us the crown of glory, which He has promised to them
that overcome*
For further encouragement in making this good confession,
let us remember this : —
9 Mark viii. 38.
1 See the first two paragraphs in the Order of Confirmation in the Book
of Common Prayer, beginning with the words, " To the end that Con
firmation may be ministered," &c., and " Do ye here in the presence of
God and of this Congregation," &c.
a Acts xiii. 10. 3 Heb. xii. 2, 3.
4 Matt. T. 10—12. 3 Rev. xxi. 7.
Benefits of Confirmation. 1 7 7
At Confirmation, we do not take any new vow, or make1
any new promise. But, at Confirmation, we publicly, with
our own lips, acknowledge ourselves bound by that vow arid
promise, which we 'made by the mouth of others at our
Baptism. No one can be saved without Repentance, Faith,
and Obedience ; and all persons, whether adults or infants,
may be presumed to desire everlasting salvation. Our
common nature, the nature of all, craves happiness; and
the greater the happiness, the more ardently we long for it.
And, at our Baptism, Almighty God graciously allowed us
to enter into covenant with Him ; and He then placed us in
a state of salvation, on the stipulation made by us, with the
mouth of others, of Repentance, Faith, and Obedience.
And, whether we afterwards come to Confirmation or no>
we are under a vow, and we are under precisely the same
vow, namely that vow which we made at our Baptism.6
But there is this great difference between those who come
to Confirmation, and those who neglect to do so. They
who come to Confirmation, receive additional strength by
means of Confirmation, and afterwards by the Holy
Communion, to which they are admissible after Confirma
tion ; and thus they are enabled by God, working together
with their will, to keep the vow made by them in Baptism.
But those persons who neglect or refuse to come to
Confirmation, deprive themselves of the supplies of grace,
which Almighty God mercifully offers to them in Confirma
tion, and in the Holy Communion, in order to empower
them to do His will, and to continue in that state of salvation
in which they were placed by Him at their Baptism.
3. Thus we are led to observe, in considering the benefits
of Confirmation, that by it we have access to the Holy
Communion.
Confirmation stands midway between the two Sacraments.
It invites us to look backward to the one Sacrament, that
of Baptism; and it exhorts us to look forward to the other
6 This is evident from the fact that the questions at Baptism are ad
dressed by the Church to the child (e. g. " Wilt tliou be baptized
in this faith"), who answers, by the voice of its proxies, "That is my
desire."
VOL. II. N
1 78 Miscellanies.
Sacrament, that of the Lord's Supper. It gives spiritual
armour to those who have been enlisted as soldiers, under
Christ's banner, at their Baptism ; and it gives access to
new resources of spiritual strength, by which they may be
enabled to fight valiantly the good fight of faith.
The grace given in Baptism, which is the Sacrament of
the New Birth, is sufficient for salvation to those who die in
infancy or early childhood. Nothing more on God's part is
needed by them.
But they, whose life has been preserved by Him till they
have arrived at years of discretion, and who are exposed to
greater perils, on account of the increased power of the
passions within them, and of the temptations of the world
around them, require new gifts of ghostly strength, in order
to encounter and vanquish the greater violence of their
spiritual enemies. They receive this additional grace from
Him in Confirmation; and are thereby admitted to the
enjoyment of a constant supply of spiritual food and
refreshment in the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
The Sacrament of Baptism is administered once, and can
never be repeated. Confirmation likewise is administered
only once. But it opens the door to constant ministries of
pardon and grace in the Holy Communion of the Body and
Blood of Christ.
The Church has shown her deep sense of the duty and
privilege of Confirmation, by ordering,7 that " none should
be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he
be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed."
The benefit of Confirmation, therefore, is proportionate
to the dignity and blessedness of that spiritual food and
refreshment, which are constantly supplied by God to every
penitent, faithful, and devout Christian in that Holy
Sacrament, to which he has been led by Confirmation.
As to the age and qualifications of those persons who are
to be brought to be confirmed, the Church of England has
pronounced her judgment on this subject, by delivering the
following charge to Godfathers and Godmothers at the
Baptism of Infants : —
7 Rubric at the end of the Order of Confirmation.
Blessings of Confirmation. 1 79
" Ye are to take care that this child be brought to the
Bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, in
the vulgar tongue, and be further instructed in the Church
Catechism set forth for that purpose."
4. Lastly, the value of Confirmation appears from the
consideration, that persons, who have attained to years of
discretion, and who are about to be confirmed after due
preparation for it, are thereby led to look back with
gratitude to the goodness of God to them in their birth,
and in their Baptism, and in the continuance of their life,
and in the preservation and growth of their bodies and of
their minds, and in the spiritual blessings vouchsafed by
Him in Prayer, private and public, and in hearing and
reading His Holy Word, and in the other ministrations of
the Christian Church ,
They are thereby moved to reflect on His infinite love
toward them, in admitting them into covenant with Himself
in their infancy, and in allowing them to stipulate with Him,
by the mouths of others, when they were not able to speak
by their own; and in giving them the spiritual grace of
regeneration, and in making them members of Christ, chil
dren of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of Heaven.
They are thus excited to render hearty thanks to their
Heavenly Father^ who has called them to this state of
salvation through Jesus Christ oiir Saviour; and they are'
constrained to consider carefully the terms of that solemn
covenant, into which they were then admitted ; and to exa
mine and to understand the grounds of the Articles of their
Belief : and to dwell on each of these Articles with attention ;
and to see the proofs there manifest of God's love towards
them in Christ, Who died for them, and of His earnest desire
for their everlasting salvation. Thus, being filled with an
ardent love of Him, they are impelled more and more
vehemently to show their love to Him, by doing His will,
remembering His own saying, If ye love Me, keep My Com
mandments ; 8 and this is the love of God, that we keep His
Commandments;' and ye are My friends, if ye do what-
8 John xiv. 15. ' 1 John v. 3.
N 2
1 80 Miscellanies.
soever I command you.1 And they are led to look into the
perfect Law of Liberty2 written in those Commandments.
Thus, they are urged with a strong resolve to devote them
selves to His service, and to present themselves in body and
soul a living sacrifice to Him, which is their reasonable
service ; 3 as well knowing that they are not their own, but
have been bought with a price, even with the precious blood
of His dear Son, in order that they may glorify Him in their
bodies, souls, and spirits, which are His.4
Having, in their Baptism, been made members of Christ,
Who is God as well as Man, and is perfectly pure and holy, and
having been thus brought near to God, they feel obliged to
endeavour to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh
and spirit; 5 and to be holy, as He is holy,' and to perfect
holiness in His fear,' so that, having been made partakers
of the divine nature here,8 they may be partakers of the
divine glory hereafter.
Thus being well instructed in the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, they are enabled to give to every one who asketh
them a reason of the hope that is in them ; 9 and to stand
stedfast in the Faith, and to contend earnestly for it, grounded
and settled in love ; and to edify others by their conve£-
sation and example, and to adorn the doctrine of God their
Saviour in all things.1
Being also persuaded, that they can do no good thing
without His grace ; and that He will give His grace to all
who seek it aright ; they are more constant and earnest in
their prayers to their Heavenly Father, that He will grant
them His grace to continue unto their lives' end in that
state of salvation to which He called them at their Baptism.
They are more thankful for the means of grace which He
has provided for them, in His Holy Word, and in Prayer
and Praise, and in Confirmation, and in the Holy Com
munion of His Blessed Body and Blood; and they show
their thankfulness to Him for His love, by a regular and
1 John xv. 14. - James i. 25, 3 Rom. xii. 1.
4 1 Cor. vi, 20 ; vii. 23. Acts xx. 20. * 2 Cor. vii. 1.
6 1 Pet, i. 16. : 2 Cor. vii. 1. • 2 Pet. i. 4.
9 1 Pet. iii. 15. » Titus ii. 10.
Law of the Church as to Confirmation. 181
reverent use of all those means of grace which He vouch
safes to them. Thus they go on from strength to strength,
and grow in grace, and in the knowledge and love of God, and
increase more and more, till they come to the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ ; 2 and at length are trans
lated from a life of grace here to a life of endless glory
hereafter, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ON THE STATISTICS OP CONFIRMATION, AS SHOWING THE NEED
OF AN INCREASE OF THE ENGLISH EPISCOPATE.
WHEN I was Vicar of a parish in Berkshire, in the Diocese
of Oxford, Stanford-in-the-Vale, I was led to consider this
subject, and wrote as follows in a letter to a noble lord,
who took much interest in it.
The Church of England prescribes — in Public Baptism
of Infants — that all her children should be trained by her
Clergy, and be prepared by them for Confirmation ; and
that, after such preparatory training, they should be con
firmed by her Bishops. Tho Church of Christ was not
instituted for the sake of her Ministers ; but her Ministers
exist for the sake qf the Church. Her children have a
claim on their Pastors for such preparation ; and they have a
right to expect, that their Bishops, as Chief Eulers in the
Church, should take care that such preparation is afforded
to them \ and, after such preparation, they have also a
claim on their Bishops for Confirmation at their hands. It
is part of their spiritual heritage.
There is something remarkable in the law of the Church,
derived from Holy Scripture and primitive practice, that
Confirmation should be administered by Bishops and by
Bishops only. It seems to have been dictated with a wise
and providential purpose, for the adequate extension of the
Episcopate according to the needs of the population. It
seems to have been ordered with a judicious and charitable
intention, that Bishops should not remain stationary in
any one place, but should visit the several Parishes of their
Dioceses, and examine personally their spiritual condition,
- Eph. iv. 13.
1 8 2 Miscellanies .
and should dispense the spiritual graces which the Great
Head of the Church vouchsafes to bestow by their ministry.
Such a work as this requires much personal labour on
their part. And whenever a Bishop finds himself unable
to perform it, and whenever he feels himself unwilling to
require his Clergy to do their duty in preparing the young
persons of their Parishes, and in bringing them to him for
Confirmation, and whenever he finds himself unable to visit
and inspect those Parishes, and to administer Confirmation
to all who ought, by the directions of the Church, to be
brought to him, then the Church of England, or rather
Christ Himself, plainly speaks, by these facts, in clear and
solemn language, and declares His Divine Will that the
lambs of His flock are not to suffer loss by their Bishop's in
capacity ; but that he ought to be provided with help, and
that the Diocese ought to be divided, or that some other
means should be supplie4 for the due execution of the
Episcopal office.
The character in which I speak is that of a Parochial
Minister. It is sometimes alleged, that we, who have the
pastoral care of Parishes, especially in country places, are
prpne to settle down into a state of languid quiescence.
Doubtless we need to be stirred by stimulants from with
out; and of all the excitements to pastoral watchfulness
and diligence, and to ministerial faithfulness and zeal, none
is so healthful and effective as the frequent and regular
administration of the Apostolic Rite of Confirmation. The
spiritual pools of our parochial Bethesdas need to be
stirred by the descent of an Angel to trouble the stagnant
waters, and awaken their healing virtue.1 Such an effect is
produced by the visit of a Bishop coming among us to hold
a Confirmation. It is like that of the Angel troubling the
pool. The waters feel the movement of his wings, even
before he comes down ; and a ripple is seen on their sur
face. Even the expectation of a visit from the Bishop to
confirm the young people of our Parishes exercises a salu
tary influence upon us for several weeks before his arrival.
The notice which we receive from our Bishop of his inten-
' John v. 4.
Episcopal notice of a Confirmation. 183
tion to visit our Parishes, and to hold a Confirmation there,
sets us immediately to work; it sends us forth on our
pastoral rounds from house to house, and makes us inquire
who is of a fit age to receive instruction for Confirmation,
and, after due training, to be confirmed. It makes us
open our Night Schools, and gather our peasant lads into
our Parsonages ; it employs us in the work of Catechizing,
which is one of the most important of our pastoral duties.
For it is vain for us to preach, unless we first catechize.
We might as well sow our fields without ploughing them.
Thus Confirmation brings us into close spiritual relations
with our people at that critical time when they are about to
enter into active life; when their wills most need to be
regulated, and their passions to be disciplined, and their
reason to be informed, and their conscience to be enlightened,
by God's Holy Word; and when they require to be equipped
and armed against the temptations of the world, and to be
prepared to fight a good fight, as valiant soldiers of Christ,
by regular training in the articles of the Christian Faith,
and in the duties of the Christian Life ; and to receive
supplies of grace in Confirmation itself, and, — after Con
firmation, — in regularly partaking of the Holy Communion,
in order to qualify them to do their duty in that state of
life to which it may please God to call them, and to attain a
blessed immortality.
Nothing in the whole sphere of ministerial labour repre
sents so much real work, — and work of the best kind, —
done by the Parochial Clergy, as a Confirmation. The
Confirmation itself may be administered by the Bishop in a
couple of hours; but it gathers up the previous pastoral
labour of many days and weeks ; it is the harvest of a long
spiritual seed-time ; the fruit of much spiritual tillage ; the
crowning work of our spiritual husbandry.
Nor is this all. A Confirmation is also a pledge and
earnest of future spiritual blessings. Confirmation is the
door to the Holy Communion. A Confirmation, therefore,
not only represents what is already done, but it reveals to
the eye of Faith and Hope the cheering prospect of many
future gatherings of Christ's children, — long after we are in
1 84 Miscellanies.
our graves, — kneeling at His altar, after self-examination,
and confession to God, and receiving in the Holy Communion
the pledges of pardon and peace, and the continual refresh
ment of spiritual grace, exciting and enabling them to do
their duty to God and man, and preparing them for the joys
of heaven. When we consider these things, we need not
hesitate to say, that the regular and adequate administration
of Confirmation in the Cities, Towns, and Villages of
England, would, by its effects, both retrospective and pro
spective, produce great moral, social, and religious improve
ment in the condition of this whole Nation.
But what is our present condition in this important
respect ?
It has been my happiness to spend a portion of every
year, during the last ten years, in a country Parish in the
County of Berks, in the Diocese of Oxford. And in
mentioning that Diocese I speak of one which possesses
great spiritual advantages. It is not one of the more
populous Dioceses ; it stands only the fifteenth in order of
population among the Dioceses of England and Wales.
And for the last fifteen years it has enjoyed the unspeakable
benefit of the Episcopal superintendence of a Chief Pastor,
whose genius and eloquence, brilliant as they are, are not
more transcendent than the zeal, devotion, and energy, with
which his Apostolic functions are discharged, especially in
the ministry of Confirmation.
But what is the condition even of this favoured Diocese of
Oxford in this important respect ?
At the last census in 1851, — ten years ago, — the popula
tion of this Diocese was a little more than half a million of
souls,2 and at the present time it probably falls little short
of 600,000. And what is the number of those who are
annually confirmed in it ? About six thousand three hundred
souls.3 That is to say, a little more than one per cent, per
annum of the population.
2 503,042.
3 In the three years ending Nov. 1857, the number annually confirmed
was 4686. In the three years ending Nov. 1860, the number was 6249 ;
a large increase, and the more gratifying on account of the admirable
manner in which Confirmation is administered in that Diocese.
Statistics of Confirmation. 185
But the number annually confirmed in this Diocese
ought to be about twenty-five thousand. Confirmations are
usually held once in three years for our rural Parishes. In
my own Parish of Stanford-in-the-Vale, which contains
about twelve hundred souls, by the kindness of the Bishop
complying with my request that he would visit it more
frequently, three per cent, of the population have been
confirmed annually. But, as I know from careful inquiry, at
least Jive per cent, ought to have been confirmed here. And
this may be accepted as a fair average for the rural Parishes
of the Diocese. It ought to be higher in the towns, on
account "of their past arrears. In other words, the number
which ought to be confirmed in this Diocese, would only
then be confirmed, if the Bishop were engaged in Confir
mations every day in the year, and if he were to confirm
about seventy persons daily. Indeed, if he had no other
employment than to administer Confirmation, that work
alone might suffice to occupy his time, and require all his
strength. •
Let me pass to another Diocese with which I have also
been connected for many years, — the Diocese of London.
In 1851 it contained more than two millions of souls. The
number of persons confirmed by the Bishop of that Diocese
yearly is about twelve thousand ; a very large number, and
one of the many proofs, which that Diocese displays, of the
resolution with which its indefatigable Chief Pastor is
animated, to spend and to be spent in his heavenly Master's
service.
But here is another evidence of the total inadequacy of
the English Episcopate, as now constituted, to execute the
work which is required by God and the Church at their
hands. The number that ought to be confirmed annually
in the Diocese of London is about seven per cent, of the
population, in order to provide for the present demand,
and to make up in some degree for past arrears. A number
not less than one hundred and forty thousand annually
ought to have the means offered them of being confirmed
in that Diocese. In other words, about a hundred and
twenty-eight thousand who might receive Confirmation are
1 86 Miscellanies.
left unconfirmed every year. And they who are left uncon
firmed, are left also without that to which Confirmation
leads : they are left without the Holy Communion.
It would be presumptuous to advert here to the manner in
which Confirmations are often administered in our populous
cities, if such a reference were not needed. The Church of
England prescribes, that in administering Confirmation, the
Bishop shall " lay his hand upon the head of every one
severally," * whom he confirms, while he utters the prayer,
" Defend, 0 Lord, this Thy Child." And the reason of this
injunction is obvious. It conduces much to the solemnity
of the effect of that holy ordinance on the minds of the
young, which are most susceptible of religious impressions.
It also involves and declares an important Christian doctrine
— the doctrine that every ^ baptized person is a child of God,
and that He is willing to give the Holy Spirit to every one
who comes to Him with faith. It is a practical protest
against Calvinistic heresies, and is a visible profession of faith
in the article of Universal Redemption.
But, unhappily, from the necessities of the case this rule of
the Church is very often not complied with, and the Prayer
of Confirmation is uttered over a rail-full of persons at once.
The religious uses of that holy rite are thus greatly im
paired, and its doctrinal teaching is obscured ; and this de
viation from the order of the Church may be pleaded as a
precedent, to justify other infractions of her laws, especially
in the ministration of the Holy Communion.
But it has its moral. It proclaims an important truth.
It shows the insufficiency of the present number of Bishops
to execute the sacred work which they have to perform.
In consequence of the size and population of our Dioceses,
it also often happens, that young persons are taken from
their own homes, perhaps to a county Town, in order to be
confirmed there. An unhappy necessity. For thus the day
of Confirmation, which ought to be a day of seriousness,
becomes a day of distraction, perhaps a day of dissipation.
The very act of renewing their vow to renounce the
* Rubric in the Office of Confirmation.
Due Ministry of Confirmation. 187
temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, is
encompassed with those temptations; and the candidates,
their friends, and their Parishes are deprived of those
sanctifying, solemnizing, and spiritualizing influences, which
the Church designed for them, and which they would derive
from the reverent administration of Confirmation in the
peaceful sanctuary of their own Parish Church_, which would
thus be more endeared to them by the holiest associations ;
and from the fatherly admonitions of their Bishop speaking
to his young spiritual children in the presence of their
parents and friends, offering up jn their behalf the prayers
of loving hearts to the common Father of all.
Such Confirmations, administered quietly and solemnly,,
greatly increase the people's veneration and affection for the
Episcopal Office, and make them feel in truth that they have
a Father in God.
It is superfluous, however, to say, that, under present
circumstances, the people of England in many Dioceses are
deprived of these benefits.
The Rite of Confirmation bestows a spiritual gift upon
those who are duly prepared for it ; and it gives them access
to the Holy Communion, and to the spiritual benefits of
pardon and grace, and hopes of a blessed resurrection and
a glorious immortality, which are promised to the penitent
and faithful receiver of that Sacrament ; and it presupposes
an important work of preparation and training previously
performed by the spiritual Pastors of those who come to
Confirmation.
If this work is left undone, — if they who ought to be
confirmed are not confirmed, — then, the youthful children of
Christ, for whom He shed His precious blood, have been
robbed of their spiritual birthright, they are spoiled of their
Christian privileges. A retribution must follow. The conse
quences are inevitable. They who have been left to grow
up to man's estate without spiritual nurture and discipline,
and without admission to those means of grace, will turn
round in bitter enmity against their Rulers, Spiritual and
Temporal ; they will lead reckless and godless lives, or they
will fall into Schism, perhaps into Scepticism and Unbelief,
1 88 Miscellanies.
with all their unhappy consequences of demoralization,
disaffection, disloyalty, anarchy and confusion.
In the name therefore of Christ's little ones, — in the name
of their Heavenly Father, Whose will it is that not one of
those little ones should perish,* — in the name of their
Parents, — in the name of the People of England, — I appeal
to your Lordship, and to other Legislators, Spiritual and
Temporal, and in the name of Christ I earnestly implore you
to provide for the eternal welfare of His children, and to
afford them free and ready access to those spiritual rights
and privileges, which He designed for them, and bought for
them with His own blood, and from which they are now shut
out. This, my Lord, is not only an Ecclesiastical question.
It affects also our civil relations. It is not a question merely
for Bishops and Clergy. It concerns the Laity ; it concerns
the whole Nation. And in the name of all, I would respect
fully and solemnly entreat your Lordship to vindicate and
recover the rights which are the common heritage of all.
Here, my Lord, is a noble enterprise ; here may be a
glorious exercise of piety, patriotism, and zeal. And when
this work is accomplished, when, by the wise and paternal
care of the English Legislature, all the People of England
have gained admission to spiritual privileges; when our
Dioceses are so subdivided, and our Episcopate so increased,
that all may be duly instructed by their Pastors, and may feel
that Episcopacy is indeed a living and energizing principle,
that it is — what Christ and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy
Apostles, acting by their commission and inspiration, in
tended and prescribed it to be, — a mainspring of parochial
action, and a channel of spiritual grace, — then, the People of
England would dwell together in unity.6
5 Matt, xviii. 14.
6 It ought to be recorded with thankfulness that more has now been
effected in 1876 — 1878 for the increase of the Episcopate, than had been
done for more than 300 years. But how much is still left undone !
ON CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION,
FEW persons can have taken part in the service for the
Ordination of Priests, and in pronouncing, or hearing, the
solemn words which are said over them at the laying on of
hands on those who are ordained, without reflecting what
thoughts will be produced by those Words in the minds of
those who are ordained, and of others who are present at
their Ordination.
Those words are as follows : — " Eeceive the Holy Ghost
for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God,
now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands.
Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven ; and whose
sins thou dost retain, they are retained. And be thou a
faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of His Holy Sacra
ments ; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen."
What do these words mean ?
On the first portion of them, " Eeceive the Holy Ghost,"
I will not now dwell. The objections which have been made
by some to the use of them have been fully considered and
answered by the writers whose names will be found in the
note below.1
But the other part, viz. : — " Whose sins thou dost forgive,
they are forgiven," calls for careful examination.
These words are derived from our Lord Himself, when
speaking to the disciples after His Resurrection. (John
xx. 22, 23.) And by some among us the recital of them at
1 Hooker, Eccles. Polity, V. Ixxvii. 5 — 7. Bp. Andrewes, Sermon on
St. John, xx. 22, 23. Works, iii. 260, v. 82, ed. Oxford, 1843. Bp.Cosin,
Sermon vi. vol. i. p. 103, ed. Oxf. 1847. Dr. Nicholl's Notes on the Com
mon Prayer on the Ordering of Priests, London, 1712.
1 90 Miscellanies.
the Ordination of Priests is supposed to invest those who
are ordained, with a power which is specially, if not exclu
sively, to be exercised in the Absolution of penitents con
fessing their sins privately to the Priest; and, after such
Confession, receiving the forgiveness of sins from him in
the utterance of a special form of Absolution, in the follow
ing terms, or some equivalent to them : — " I absolve thee
from all thy sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
If that construction be sound, then they, who are ordained
Priests, will feel it to be their duty to urge all men to resort
to private Confession ; and they will think that the words
said over their own heads at the most solemn hour of their
lives, have been uttered in vain, unless they earnestly exhort
their hearers to come to them for Confession.
Therefore we may expect that youthful Priests, in the
fervour of their piety and zeal, will feel distress of mind, as
if they were unfaithful to their trust, and untrue to Christ,
Who has given them their commission, and as if they
were guilty of hiding the talent entrusted to them at Ordi
nation, if they do not betake themselves at once to hear
Confessions, and if they do not do all they can to constrain
all under their care to come to them as their ghostly fathers
and spiritual physicians, for their souls* health, and to con
fess all their most secret sins to them, in order to receive
forgiveness at their hands.
Let us, therefore, inquire into the force of those words.
First, then, they preserve us against the stern and un
merciful heresy of the Novatians, who asserted that sins
committed after baptism are irremissible ; and they assure
us that Christ has left in His Church power to forgive sins ;
and therefore in the Creed it is said, " I believe in the for
giveness of sins," to which article were added in some ancient
symbols the words, " in the Holy Church." ;
Next, let us observe that the words declare that remission
of sins is effectually dispensed by the Christian Ministry.
Christ did not say to His disciples, " Whosesoever sins ye
attempt to remit;" nor do the words, literally rendered, mean
• See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Art. ix.
To forgive sins is an act of God. 191
" Whosesoever sins ye remit •" but, as speaking of a thing
already effected, He says, " Whosesoever sins ye shall have
remitted, they have been remitted unto them ;" and, there
fore, the Latin version of those words is not " Quorum
remittetis peccata/' but, " Quorum remiseritis peccata/'
Hence it is evident, that the work is not done by the Priest,
except ministerially, and as an instrument in the hand of
God, and by power and authority received from Him. For,
" Who can forgive sins but God only ?" (Mark ii. 7.) " To
Thee only it appertaineth to forgive sins," we say in our
Commination Service; and it is a common thing with the
Fathers of the ancient Church to prove the Godhead of Christ
from the fact of His forgiving sins.3 And S. Ambrose4 also
proves the divinity of the Holy Ghost from the words of Our
Lord, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost ; whosesoever sins ye
remit, &c., they are remitted unto them." For (says S.
Ambrose), " Behold here, that sins are forgiven through the
power of the Holy Ghost ; mien contribute their ministry for
the remission of sins, but they do not exercise any right of
power therein. They do not remit sins in their own name,
but in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The Ministers pray for the forgiveness, but the Godhead
grants it. Their part is to obey ; but the gift is from God."
And S. Chrysostom similarly says, in his homily on our
Lord's words in St. John, " The whole work of forgiveness
is of Divine favour and grace. It is God alone Who gives
what the priest dispenses : and however far human philosophy
may reach, it can never grasp the extent of that grace. I
say not this in order that men may presume upon God's
grace and be remiss, but in order that, although some priests
may be careless, ye may not heap evil upon yourselves. And
why do I speak of priests ? Neither angels nor archangels
3 See S. Irenaeus, v. 17 ; S. Athanasius, contra Arianos Orat. iii. ;
S. Augustine, Serm. 99, " Homo non potest peccata dimittere ; ilia quse
sibi a Christo dimitti credidil, Christum Deum esse credidit ;" S. Jerome
in Matt. ix. ; S. Chrysostom in Matt. Horn. 29. See Ussher, Ansiver to
a Jesuit, p. 79, and Blngham, Book xix. 1.
4 S. Ambrose, de Spiritu Sancto, iii. 18; S. Augustine, Serm. 99,
" Spiritus dimittit peccata; Spiritus Deus est."
192 Miscellanies.
can do anything to affect the gifts which are bestowed on us
by God ; but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost pro
vide them all ; and the priest onlj lends his own tongue and
hand in dispensing them."
By this true doctrine of the ancient Church we are
guarded against the errors of some later times, and espe
cially of those who have taught since the fourth Lateran
Council in the 13th century, and the Council of Trent in
the 16th century after Christ, that God has disabled and
divested Himself of His power to forgive sins except by the
ministry of the Priest, and on terms which have been de
vised by men. We hold that the removal of sin from the
soul is not a priestly act, but the work of God alone. We
do not say with the Church of Rome, that Absolution takes
away sin, but that it assures us of God's gracious forgive
ness of sin. Our assertion is that God has given the key of
pardon to His Church, but that the key is God's key, and
not man's, and that it has no power to open the gate of
forgiveness, unless the hand which holds it is guided by
God, and except the key moves in the wards of a true faith
and sincere repentance in the sinner's heart.
Let us next inquire — How is this ministerial work of
remission performed ?
1. Christ Himself supplies an answer to this question.
After His Resurrection He declared to His disciples His
Will that "Repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in His Name among all nations," beginning at
Jerusalem (Luke xxiv. 47; cp. Acts iii. 19; xiii. 38).
"In Christ (says the Apostle of the Gentiles) we have
redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, ac
cording to the riches of His grace." (Eph. i. 7. Rom. iii.
24, 25.) St. Paul describes this work of preaching remis
sion of sins, as " the Ministry of Reconciliation." " All
things are of God (he says) Who hath reconciled us to Him
self by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them, and hath committed unto us the Word of recon
ciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as
How Christ's Ministers remit sins. 193
though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's
stead be ye reconciled to God." (2 Cor. v. 18 — 20.) Thus
then, the Ministers of Christ are rightly said to remit sins,
because they awaken men from the sleep of sin, and dispose
them to repentance by setting before them the terrors of the
Lord to the guilty, and the promises of life eternal to the
faithful, and by proclaiming in God's Name free pardon to
all who repent and believe, through "the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son which cleanseth from all sin " (1 John i. 7)
and by preaching that Word, which God, Who alone can
remit sins by His own power, has appointed and commanded
to be preached for the remission of sins. Thus they remit
sin, just as Timothy is said by St. Paul to save himself and
those that hear him (1 Tim. iv. 16), because he ministered
those things which Christ, Who is the only Saviour, had
instituted and appointed for the salvation of man ; and just
as a Physician of the body is said to heal a disease, because
he applies those medicines which the One Divine Creator
and Healer has made and given for that purpose.
2. Next, the Priests of the Church may be rightly said to
remit sins, because they minister the Holy Sacrament of
Baptism which Christ has instituted for the remission of
sins. St. Peter, having received a commission from Christ,
preached in his first sermon this exhortation, " Repent, and
be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins. (Acts ii. 38; cp. Acts xxiii. 16;
Eph. v. 26.) And, therefore, we say in the Creed, "I
believe in one Baptism for the remission of sins."
The ancient Fathers, in commenting on our Lord's
words, " Whosesoever sins ye remit," &c., frequently apply
them to the ministration of Baptism. Thus S. Cyprian,5
Bishop of Carthage and Martyr, in the third century,
having quoted those words applies them to that Sacrament.
And so S. Cyril of Alexandria.6 "Baptism is called by Ter-
tullian7 "felix aquae sacramentum, in quo ablutis delictis in
vitam aeternam liberamur ;" and it is named by St. Augus-
0 Cyprian, Ep. 69, ad Magnum, p. 185, ed. Fell; and Ep. 73, ad
Jubaianum, p. 201.
6 S. Cyril, in Joann, c. 20. '• Tertullian, de Baptismo, c. 1.
VOL. II. 0
1 94 Miscellanies.
tine,8 "magna indulgentia (or principal remission) unde
incipit omnis renovatio, in qua omnis solvitur reatus et
ingeneratus et additus."
But it may be said, Do not Deacons administer Baptism,
and if our Lord's words refer to the ministry of Baptism,
why does the Church of England not use them in the
Ordination of Deacons, but in that of Priests? To this
question it may be replied, that those words of our Lord
were addressed to the ten Apostles ; and that the Apostles,
strictly speaking, were not Priests but Bishops. The
ancient Fathers teach, and the Church of England holds,
that there are three orders of ministers in the Church
of God,9 Bishops, Priests, Deacons. Bishops are suc
cessors of the Apostles ; Priests succeed the seventy, of
whom St. Luke writes1 (Luke x. 1 — 17) ; Deacons are suc
cessors of those whose ordination is described in the Acts
of the Apostles (Acts vi. 1 — 6).
With reverence be it said, the reason why our Lord ad
dressed these words to the Apostles was that the power of
ministering the Sacraments, and even of Preaching, is
primarily in Bishops, and subordinately in Priests and
Deacons. According to the judgment of the ancient
Church, the Apostolic Office, — and after it the Episcopate,
— which has its origin in Christ, the great Apostle of our
profession (Heb. iii. 1), contains the primary principle and
germ from which all the functions of the Priesthood and
Diaconate are evolved and developed.
Thus S. Ignatius says,2 " it is not lawful to baptize, or to
administer the Holy Communion without the leave of the
Bishop." And S. Ambrose says,3 " although Priests bap-
8 S. Augustine, Enchirid. c. 64.
9 See the Preface to the Ordination Services in the Book of Common
Prayer.
1 See S. Jerome, de Mansionibus, Mans, vi., and Tkeophylact on
St. Luke x. Bishop Andrewes says to Peter Moulin in Opuscula Pos-
tuma, p. 183 and 210, ed. Oxf. 1852, and compare vol. ii. p. 63, " Every
where among the Fathers, Bishops are said to have succeeded the Apostles,
and Presbyters the Seventy-two."
2 S. Ignatius, Epist. ad Smyrn. c. 8.
3 S. Ambrose, de Sacramentis, iii. 1.
Remission of sin in the two Sacraments. 195
tize, yet the origin (exordium) of their power is from the
Bishop;" and Tertullian,4 and St. Jerome say, that neither
Deacons nor Priests have power to administer baptism
without the authority of the Bishop. In our own Church,
deacons have authority to baptize in " the absence of the
Priest ; " and in case of the baptism of adults, reference is
to be made by Priests to the Bishop.
Let me here observe in passing, that they who preach and
baptize without any sanction and commission from a Bishop,
will not find any allowance of such a proceeding in the
writings of Christian antiquity.
I see no reason therefore to doubt the soundness of the
opinion delivered by some of our most learned divines,5
following the ancient Fathers of the Church, that the words
of our Blessed Lord, "Whosesoever sins ye remit," con
tain a commission to administer the Sacrament of Baptism
and to confer Absolution thereby.
3. It cannot be questioned that they also comprehend a
power to consecrate the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and
Blood of Christ, which, as our Lord Himself declared, was
instituted by Him for the remission of sins (Matt. xxvi. 28),
and to give Absolution thereby to all penitent, faithful, and
loving receivers of the Holy Eucharist who confess their sins
to God. And, therefore, in our Office for that Sacrament,
when we are about to confess our sins to Him, and to receive
those mysteries, we pray to God for grace " so to eat the
flesh and drink the Blood of His dear Son, that our sinful
bodies may be made clean by His Body, and our souls washed
through His most precious Blood."
The Holy Communion is of divine appointment for the
4 Tertullian, de Bapt. c. 17 ; S. Jerome, contra Jjudferianos, pt. ii.
p. 295, ed. Bened. Paris, 1706 ; see Bingham, Book ii. chap. iii.
8 Such as Francis Mason, de Ministerio Anglicano, Book V. chap. x. ;
Dr. Isaac Barrow, de Potestate Clamum, vol. iv. p. 58, ed. Lond. 1687 ;
Bp. Jeremy Taylor, Doctrine of Repentance, chap. x. sect. 4 ; Joseph
Bingham, Antiquities, xix. 1, and his two excellent Sermons and two
Letters to the Bishop of Winchester (Bp. Trelawny), on Absolution, at
the end of his Antiquities of tlie Christian Church, vol. viii. Lond. 1829 ;
also Bp. Jewel, Apol. c. vi. ; Abp. Bramhall on Consecration, &c.,
chap. xi. vol. iii. p. 167, cd. Oxford, 1844.
o 2
1 9 6 Miscellanies.
pardon of sins. It has the essence of a Sacrament both in
outward form and inward virtue ; which cannot be said of
the so-called " Sacrament of Penance." And it is derogatory
to its dignity, and to the honour of Him Who instituted it,
to put anything else as " a Sacrament of Penance/' with
that title, in its place.
The doctrine of the so-called " Sacrament of Penance/' as
taught by the Church of Rome, is beset with contradictions ;
there is no consistency in her teaching as to what constitutes
the form of the said Sacrament, and in what its matter con
sists (Hooker, VI. iv. 3 ; cp. Chemnit. Examen Concil. Trid.
de Pcenit., c. iii.), and the Church of Rome makes satisfac
tion to be a part of the Sacrament of Penance (Concil. Tri
dent. Sessio xiv. 3), and yet separates satisfaction from it,
by pronouncing Absolution first, and by imposing works of
satisfaction to be done afterwards ; which is repugnant to
the teaching of Scripture, and to the doctrine and practice
of the primitive Church.
4. Another mode of remitting sins is by the prayers of the
Priests of God. This is what St. James declares, when he
exhorts the sick " to send for the elders," or priests of the
Church, that they may pray over him, and his sins shall be
forgiven (James v. 14, 15).
And therefore, S. Chrysostom ° says, — combining various
ways in which the Christian Priest remits sins, that they do
it when they regenerate men (by baptism), and also when
they do it by prayer, and he then quotes the words of St.
James. And St. Ambrose/ referring to our Lord's words
(John xx. 23), says, "Men exercise their ministry in
forgiving sins. They pray to God, and He gives pardon."
Thus, then, we may say in reply to the question, " What
is the force of the words, "Whosesoever sins ye remit/'
spoken by our Blessed Lord to the Apostles on the evening
of the Resurrection, after He had breathed upon them, and
said, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost," as spoken to the Priests
of the Church of God at their ordination, that they contain
6 S. Chrysostom, de Sacerdotio, lib. iii. p. 88; ed. Hughes, Cant.
1710.
7 Ambrose, de Spiritu Sancto, iii. 18.
How Remission of sins is bestowed. 197
a commission and a power derived from the Holy Ghost,
given by the Eternal Son of the Father — to remit sin by
applying those means which Christ has instituted and
appointed for its remission ; namely —
(1). The sincere Word of God duly preached. The declara
tion of remission of sins in Christ's Name to all those
who repent and believe.
(2) . The Holy Sacrament of Baptism duly administered.
(3). The Holy Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist rightly
consecrated, and fully and freely dispensed.
(4). The prayers of the Priesthood for the forgiveness of
sins.
The Christian Priest, who faithfully discharges his duty
in performing these functions of his ministry, may cherish a
humble and joyful hope that the priestly commission has
been given him for gracious purposes and glorious ends, and
that the work of his ministry will be approved and rewarded
at the great day by the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
(5) . We are now arrived at the consideration of one other
way by which the Priests of God's Church remit sin, namely,
by pronouncing Absolution.
This is done publicly by them in our daily Office of
Morning and Evening Prayer, and in the celebration of the
Holy Communion.
It is clear that the Church regards the words then uttered
as having power to convey an assurance of remission of sins
to every one there present who is qualified by faith and
repentance to receive it.
Let us refer to the Book of Common Prayer. There we
read (after the introductory Sentences and the Exhortation,
calling to repentance and acknowledgment of sin), " A
General Confession to be said of the congregation after the
Minister, all kneeling ; " and after the Confession, " the
Absolution or Remission of sins to be pronounced by the
Priest alone standing, the people still kneeling."
A similar order is followed at the Holy Communion.
" After the Confession, to be said by all kneeling," " then
shall the Priest, or the Bishop, being present, stand up, and
1 98 Miscellanies.
<?
turning himself to the people, pronounce this Absolution."
The Church of England does not say with the Church of
Rome, that Absolution is a Sacrament of the Gospel 8 and
confers grace, as the two Sacraments of Baptism and the
Lord's Supper do. But it is evident that the Church of
England intends that the words publicly pronounced by the
Priest in Absolution should be regarded as having power to
convey a comfortable assurance to those who are conscious
to themselves of sin, and also of sincere faith and repentance,
and confess their sins to God. She expressly calls each of
these forms an Absolution ; and her intention is to certify
every penitent and faithful person there present, and con
fessing his sins to God, Who searcheth the heart, that God,
Who alone can forgive sins, uses and blesses the ministry of
His chosen and appointed servant the Priest, and gives
remission of sins by means of the ministry which Christ has
instituted ; and that so our Lord's promise is fulfilled,
" Whatsoever ye shall loose " (literally shall have loosed) " on
earth, shall be loosed in heaven" (Matth. xviii. 18); and
"whosesoever sins ye remit (literally shall have remitted),
they are (literally have been) remitted unto them."
Richard Hooker 5 writes thus concerning the Absolution
in the Morning and Evening Prayer : " It standeth with us
in the Church of England, as touching public Confession,
thus : — First, seeing day by day we in our Church begin our
public prayers to Almighty God with public acknowledg
ment of our sins, in which confession every man, prostrate
as it were before His glorious Majesty, crieth guilty against
himself; and the Minister, with one sentence, pronounceth
universally all clear whose acknowledgment so made hath
proceeded from a true penitent mind; what reason is there
every man should not, under the general terms of Con
fession, represent to himself his own particulars whatsoever;
8 See Article xxv. and the Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments,
p. 330, ed. Oxf. 1822, " Absolution is no such Sacrament as Baptism and
the Communion are." Cp. Hooker, VI. iv. 3, who observes that it was
never regarded as a Sacrament instituted by Christ for the conveyance of
Grace till the 13th century. See also, Ibid. VI. vi, 4.
• Hooker, Eccl. Pol. VI. iv. 15.
Public forms of A b solution . 199
and adjoining thereunto that affection which a contrite
spirit worketh, embrace to as full effect the words of divine
grace, as if the same were severally and particularly uttered
with addition of prayers, imposition of hands, or all the
ceremonies and solemnities that might be used for the
strengthening of men's affiance in God's peculiar mercy
towards them? Such complements are helps to support
our weakness, and not causes that serve to procure or
produce His gifts. If with us there be ' truth in the
inward parts ; ' as David speaketh, the difference of general
and particular forms in Confession and Absolution is not
so material, that any man's safety or ghostly good should
depend upon it."
Unhappily the forms of public Absolution, in the Church
of England, are now undervalued by some, on two pleas;
(1) Because they are declaratory and precatory, that is,
because in them the Priest declares and pronounces forgive
ness in God's Name, and for Christ's sake, as in the daily
office ; or because (as in the Communion Service) he prays
for the bestowal of pardon from God on those who have
confessed their sins ; but does not say " I absolve ihee from
thy sins," and because in their opinion (as in that of the
Trent Council *) the principal force of the form of what the
Church of Eome calls the Sacrament of Penance consists in
the use of those words, " Ego absolve te," and because con
sequently the use of that form is necessary ; and further
(2) Because the above words of Absolution are spoken in
public to many persons confessing their sins to God, and not
in private to one singly confessing his sins to the Priest.
With regard to the first of these reasons we may reply,
that, if it had any weight, there was no Absolution of
sins pronounced in the Church for eleven hundred years after
Christ, inasmuch as it is unquestionable that all the forms of
Absolution used in the Church during that time were
declaratory * or precatory, and the form, " I absolve thee "
1 Concil. Tridentin. Sess. xiv. cap. 3, and Thomas Aquinas, Sumina,
Pars iii. qu. 84 ; cp. Hooker, VI. iv. 3.
2 Peter Lombard, one of the greatest Eoman Catholic divines and
schoolmen of the twelfth century, the scholar of St. Bernard, and professor of
2OO Miscellanies.
(although an allowable form * when rightly applied), was not
used till the eleventh century after Christ, and has not been
used in the Greek Church to this day.
This is acknowledged by the most learned divines of the
Church of Rome herself/ and has been shown at large by
our own writers.'
The second allegation is, that the virtue of Absolution
consists in the private exercise of the priestly office on the
souls of individuals in the Confessional ; and that our Lord's
words had special reference to that exercise.
This, then, brings us to examine the question of private
Confession.
What is to be said concerning it ?
First, let it not be supposed 6 that we would disparage
that sober and comforting use of " the ministry of recon-
theology at Paris, afterwards Bishop there (A.D. 1160), and commonly called
the " Master of the Sentences," affirmed that all forms of Absolution were
in fact declaratory. See the remarkable words in his Libri Sententia-
rum, Lib. iv., Distinct. 18, p. 375, ed. Paris, 1841. He thus speaks: —
" It is evident from what has been said, that God Himself releases the
penitent from liability to punishment ; and He releases him then when
He enlightens his soul and gives him true contrition of heart. Therefore,
he is not loosed from everlasting wrath by the priest to whom he confesses
his sin, but he is already loosed by God to whom he has made his confes
sion." And Peter Lombard then quotes S. Ambrose, S. Augustine, and
S. Jerome to the same effect ; and compares the work of Absolution to the
raising of Lazarus from the grave. Lazarus was raised by Christ, Who
afterwards commanded His disciples to loose him from his grave-clothes,
and let him go. (John xi. 44.) So it is with the penitent. And (follow
ing S. Jerome in his note on Matth. xvi.) he illustrates it by the act of the
Levitical priest, who declared the leper to be clean, and to be restored to
communion with the people of God ; but the act of healing was the act of
God, and of God alone ; and " God regards not so much the sentence of the
priest as the heart and life of the penitent."
8 See Bingham, xix. ii. 6.
4 e.g. Morinus, de Pcenitentia, lib. viii. c. 8. The work of Thomas
Aquinas in defence of that form may be seen in his works, vol. xix. p. 176,
ed. Venet. 1787.
6 e.g. Abp. Ussher, Answer to a Jesuit, p. 89 ; see also Bp. Fell in his
edition of St. Cyprian, de Lapsis, p. 136 ; and Marshall in his learned
work on the Penitential Disipline of the Ancient Church, chap. iii.
sect. iv. ; Bingham, Antiquities, xix. ii. and vol. viii. p. 450 — 454.
8 Some sentences which follow have been printed by the Author in the
Twelve Addresses delivered at his Visitation in 1873.
Confession, in the Church of England. 201
ciliation," 7 which Holy Scripture and the Primitive Church
sanction, and which the Church of England commends to
her children, in special cases, in the Exhortation to the Holy
Communion, and in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick.8
We do not forget that our best divines have recommended
it, in certain circumstances, and under certain conditions,
and that the most celebrated foreign Reformers, Calvin,
Beza, and the authors of the Lutheran " Confession/' ' have
done the same. On the contrary, we feel persuaded that in
this, as in other matters, the abuse of what in special cases
and under certain restrictious is good and wholesome, holy
and wise, has created a prejudice against the use of it.
The Church of England, in her Exhortation to the Holy
Communion, recommends private confession of sin to those
of her children who "cannot otherwise quiet their own
consciences, but require further comfort and counsel." And
in her Office for the Visitation of the Sick, she says that if
•/
the sick person feels his conscience troubled with any
weighty matter, he is to be moved by the Priest to make a
special Confession of his sins.
The reasons why she does this in the former of these two
special cases are clearly stated by herself in that Exhorta
tion; and the causes why she does it in the letter are
declared by Hooker,2 as follows — "They who during life
and health are never destitute of ways to elude repentance,
do, notwithstanding, oftentimes when their last hour
draweth on, both feel that sting which before lay dead in
them, and also thirst after such helps as have been always
till then unsavoury. . . . Yea, because to countervail the
fault of delay, there are in the latest repentance, oftentimes,
the surest tokens of sincere dealing, therefore, upon special
confession made to the minister of God, he presently
absolveth, in this case, the sick party from all his sins by
7 2 Cor. v. 18. 8 Compare Hooker, VI. iv. 6 and 15.
9 e.g. Bp. Jewel, Apol. p. 158, ed. 1611 ; Hooker, VI. vi. 6, especially
Ridley, Life of Bishop Ridley, pp. 136, 145, 153, 236, 336, 578.
1 Calvin, Institut. iv. c. 1 ; Beza, Homil. 16, in Hist. Resurrect, p. 394,
395 ; Confessio Augustan. Art. xi. xii. Chemnit. Con. Trid. pp. 373, 394.
2 Hooker, VI. iv. 5.
2O2 Miscellanies.
that authority which Jesus Christ hath committed to him."
But surely, to infer from these two exceptional cases, that
the Church of England authorizes her Ministers to recom
mend private Confession as a regular practice is strangely to
pervert her words, and to affirm that she intends her Clergy
to feed her children with medicines which she has provided
for the sick.
Again, she exhorts those who are troubled in mind, and
who cannot quiet their own consciences, to resort " to some
discreet and learned minister of God's Word, and open his
grief ; that by the ministry of God's Holy Word he may have
the benefit of absolution, together with ghostly counsel and
advice, to the quieting of his conscience, and avoiding of all
scruple and doubtfulness." But some among us would
invert this order; they would constrain the people of a
parish to come habitually and confess to their minister, who
may be some youthful priest, perhaps neither learned nor
discreet, and who may be more able to create scruples and
doubtfulness in the minds of others, than to quiet them by
the ministry of God's Holy Word. And some would per
suade us that the solemn words of our Blessed Lord, pro
nounced at the Ordination of Priests at the laying on of
hands, have been spoken to little purpose unless the newly
made Priest applies himself at once to exercise his ministry
by hearing private Confessions and by pronouncing private
Absolutions.
The Church of Rome wisely requires that a person who
undertakes the difficult and responsible office of hearing
Confessions should be eminent in theological science,
learning, and wisdom.3
3 See the Trent Catechism, pt. ii. cap. v. qu. 49, where this rule is laid
down, " Ut hujus sacramenti minister turn scientist et eruditione turn pru-
dentia prseditus sit. Judicis enim et medici simul personam gerit. Ex
quo poterunt fideles intelligere, cuivis maximo studio curandum esse, ut
eum sibi sacerdotem eligat, quern vitse integritas, doctrina, prudens judi-
cium, commendet, qui, quae cuique sceleri pcena conveniat, et qui vel sol-
vendi vel ligandi sint, optime noverit.'' Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of
Milan, in bis " Monita ad Confessores " of his diocese, thus writes : —
" Let no secular or regular priest presume to minister the sacrament of
penance (in this diocese) unless he has first obtained from us a written
On enforcement of private Confession. 203
This is a grave and serious matter. In the medical
treatment of our perishable bodies, quackery is punishable
by law. Surely spiritual empiricism, which may jeopardize
the health of immortal souls, ought not to escape scot-free.
The physician of the body is not allowed to write a prescrip
tion without having obtained a diploma : and shall any one
venture to undertake the office of a Penitentiary in the
Church of God, without being duly qualified and authorized
to do so ? Heaven forbid ! I confess that when I think of
devout persons, especially young women, of ardent affections
and delicate sensibilities, being invited, and almost con
strained, perhaps, by some youthful priest, to resort
habitually to private Confession, I shudder at the thought.
By so doing, instead of looking up to God as their loving
Father, having His ear open to their prayers, and ever ready
to receive them, on their faith and repentance, as His dear
children in Christ, they are led to look to a man, and to seek
comfort and forgiveness of him. They put themselves under
his dominion, and thus submit their will, reason, and con
science to him, and rob Christ of themselves, whom He
has purchased with His own Blood.4 And further, by being
tempted to brood over their own spiritual sensations,
emotions, and symptoms., and to talk or write of them to
their chosen spiritual guides, they are in danger of acquiring
an egotistical spirit of self- consciousness, and of morbid and
hypochondriacal sentimentalism, and to lose that healthful
vigour and genuine freshness and holy beauty of soul which
are produced and cherished by direct communion with God;
and by looking upward to Him, and by losing self in
adoration of Him, and in zeal for His glory, and in love for
His presence in the heart — which is the life of angels. I
licence and faculty to do so, as the Council of Trent prescribes ; otherwise
he will have incurred excommunication ipso facto." It would be well if
priests of the Church of England, who are eager to constrain others to
come to them for confession, would carefully read these " Monita ad Con-
f essores " of one of the wisest and holiest Bishops of the Church of Rome.
In the Greek Church (says Dr. Covel on the " Greek Church,'' p. 252) " a
confessor ought to be a most expert casuist, and be at least forty years
old.
4 1 Cor. vi. 20 ; vii. 23. Gal. v. 1.
204 Miscellanies.
shrink from the thought of the anatomical dissection of
consciences to which such votaries are required to submit,
and from that long catalogue of interrogatories, which may
be seen in some " Manuals of Confession" — as taught and
practised by the Church of Rome5 — and which are an
outrage against purity, modesty, and virtue.
It is earnestly to be hoped, for reasons such as these, that
the desires and intentions of some persons to introduce the
practice of private Confession into English schools, public
and private, may never be realized.
But let the Clergy be exhorted to cultivate habits of
personal intercourse with their parishioners, especially the
young, in preparing them for Confirmation ; and as mem
bers of communicant classes. And let them urge upon them
the importance and necessity of regular self-examination',
and for this purpose let them recommend to each of
them some good Manual of self-examination; such as
may be found in Bishop Ken's Exposition of the Church
Catechism.
Private confession is exacted by the Church of Rome,
which has converted penance into a Sacrament ; and she by
requiring private Confession as a pre-requisite to the Holy
Communion, places one Sacrament, made by herself, as a
bar to the reception of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
instituted by Christ.' And whereas the Holy Spirit says,
by St. Paul, " Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat
of that bread, and drink of that cup," 7 she says, " Let a
man confess to a Priest and submit himself to be examined
by a Priest, and so let him come to Communion ;" and also,
whereas St. John 8 says, " If we confess our sins, God is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins," she ventures to say
that it is necessary to resort to the human minister in order
to obtain pardon from God, whose servant he is. And
Confession in the Church of Rome is not so much a voluntary
5 E. ff. that of Peter Dens.
6 Condi. Lateran. IV. A.D. 1215, can. 21 ; Cone. Trident. Sess. xiii.
cap. 7, can. 11 ; Catehism. Rom., Part II., cap. iv. qu.43. Cp. Hooker,
VI. iv. 3.
* 1 Cor. xi. 28. 8 1 John i. 9.
Private Confession. 205
unburdening of sorrow on the part of the penitent, as an
inquisitorial scrutiny of the penitent on the part of the
priest.
Holy Scripture speaks much concerning the duty of
repentance, but in no case does it require Confession, as a
matter of necessity, to any one but God.
The examples of acknowledgments of sin which are
mentioned in the New Testament as being made to men
are either public avowals of public sin, as that of those who
came to St. John's Baptism,9 and of the men at Ephesus,1
and of St. Paul at Jerusalem for his share in the death of
St. Stephen;2 or else they were Confessions of wrong done
to a brother, and with a petition for pardon from him, as
those specified by St. James.3 To cite again the words of
Eichard Hooker:4 "There are men that would seem to
honour Antiquity, and none more to depend on the reverend
judgment thereof. I dare boldly affirm that for many
hundred years after Christ, the Fathers held no such opinion
concerning our Saviour's words, ' Whose sins ye remit they
are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained
(John xx. 23) ;' they did not gather by our Saviour's words
any such necessity of seeking the Priest's Absolution from
sin by secret and (as they now term it) Sacramental Con
fession; public Confession they thought necessary by way
of discipline, not private Confession as in the nature of a
Sacrament necessary." Again, he says, (VI. iv. 14) : " In
the times of the Holy Fathers it was not the faith and
doctrine of God's Church, as it is of the Papacy at the present
time, (1) that the only remedy for sin after Baptism is
Sacramental penitency; (2) that Confession in secret is an
essential part thereof; (3) that God Himself cannot now
forgive sin without the Priest ; (4) that because forgiveness
at the hands of the Priest must arise from Confession in the
offenders, therefore Confession unto him is a matter of such
necessity as being not either in deed or at the least in desire
performed excludeth utterly from all pardon. No, no ; these
9 Matt. iii. 6. l Acts xix. 18.
a Acts xxii. 20. 3 James v. 14, 16t
4 Hooker, VI. iv. 6.
206 Miscellanies.
opinions have youth in their countenance. Antiquity knew
them not ; it never thought or dreamed of them."
Public Confession is recommended to penitents by Ter-
tullian5 and by Cyprian6 and St. Ambrose,7 with a view of
obtaining the benefit of the prayers of the Church. In the
third century, as it seems,8 in order to obviate the scandals
that arose " from the multitude of public penitents," the
Greek Church appointed some one presbyter to be a
penitentiary in each church to receive voluntary Confessions
in private, with a few to public penance, if requisite, and
consequent Absolution by the Bishop. But this office was
abolished by Nectarius, Patriarch of Constantinople, at the
end of the fourth century,9 and the successor of Nectarius,
St. Chrysostom, in several places gives as his counsel to
penitents, to confess their sins to God; but disclaims
any desire of making them confess to man.1 Let the
reader refer to the testimonies collected by Bingham on this
subject.2 At that time, Confession of secret sins to God
alone was the practice of the Church."3
Public offenders were put to public penance, but the
Confession of secret sins was left to the discretion and
conscience of those who committed them.4
5 Tertullian, de Pcenitent. c. 9 and c. 10; Bingham, Book XVII.
chap. iii.
6 S. Cyprian, de Lapsis, c. 14.
7 S. Ambrose, de Paenitentia, ii. 7 ; Quid vereris apud bonum Domi-
num tuas iniquitates fateri ? and ii. 10, Fleat pro te Mater Ecclesia ;
amat Christus ut pro uno multi^rogent.
8 See Mr. Keble on Hooker, VI. iv. 9.
9 Socrates, H. E., v. 19; Sozomen, vii. 16. Cp. Hooker, VI. iv.
1 S. Chrysostom, Homil. xxxi. Epist. ad Hebraos, torn. xii. p. 289,
ed. Montfaucon, and De Incomprehensibili Dei natura, Homil. v. sec. 7,
torn. i. p. 490, where he says, " I do not lead thee into a theatre of thy
fellow-servants, or compel thee to reveal thy sins to men ; unfold thy con
science before God, and show thy wounds to Him, and beseech Him to
heal them."
" Cp. Bingham, Book XV. chap. viii. sec. 6, and Book XVIII.
chap. iii.
3 See Bingham, chap, iii., and Marshall's Penitential Discipline,
chap. 2, sec. i. p. 43, ed. Oxford, 1844.
4 Marshall, p. 44. Bingham, Book XV. chap. viii. sec. 6.
Fourth Lateran Council — Conclusion. 207
Indeed, if private Confession and private Absolution were,
as some allege, necessary to the spiritual health of the soul,
it must be acknowledged that the Church of God was in a
state of spiritual sickness from the time of the Holy Apostles
for 1200 years; for it was not till the year after Christ 1215
that private Confession was made obligatory even by the
Church of Home ; 8 and then only once a year.
And now, let me say a few words in conclusion.
In the controversies on this subject, which now agitate
the minds of many among us, let us endeavour, with God's
help, to cherish a spirit of calmness and of love. In the
strifes of earth let us lift up our hearts to the peace of
heaven. Let us praise God for the blessings He has
bestowed on us in the Church of England, where we enjoy,
by His mercy, all things necessary for our growth in grace
on earth, and for the attainment of everlasting glory in
heaven. Let us bless Him for the wisdom He has given to
the Church of England to pursue a middle course between
two opposite extremes.
On the one side, let us shun the error of those who do
wrong to Him, and injure their own souls, and those of
others, by scorning those spiritual comforts which He offers
by the ministry of the Christian Priesthood, deriving its
authority from Christ, Who breathed on the Apostles and
said, " Receive the Holy Ghost ; Whosesoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them."
On the other side, let us avoid the dangerous delusion of
those who do dishonour to God and to Christ, and restrain
and curtail His free grace and mercy to the wounded and
bleeding soul, by teaching that there is no remedy for
mortal sin after baptism, but by "the Sacrament of
Penance;" and that no contrition of the heart, and no
confession of the lips, are of any avail, without the inter
vention of a spiritual guide; and that no reparation of
wrong, no amendment of life, no works of piety and mercy,
5 At the Fourth Lateran Council, Canon 21, Concil. ed. Labbe, xi. p. 172.
That private Confession was not enforced in the twelfth century is clear
from the words of Gratian, in Jus Canonicum Dist. de Pcenitentid, c. 79.
208 Miscellanies.
no fasting, no almsgiving, are of use to the penitent, except
imposed by a confessor ; and who bind all men upon pain of
everlasting condemnation to make private Confession of
every great offence that they know and remember that they
have ever committed against God, and who affirm that He
will never pardon our sins unless we first reveal them to a
Priest, or earnestly desire to do so.6
Of these two errors, that which I have just described has,
by an excess of reaction common in human affairs, produced
the former. If, therefore, we are desirous for the sake of
Christ and of His Church, that the Christian Priesthood
should receive due honour from the People, let us beware of
claiming more for it than has been granted to it by Christ,
lest by lording it over God's heritage (1 Pet. v. 3) we
forfeit the reverence of those whose love is a precious talent
entrusted to us by Him.
The gift of pardon for sin is from God alone. But the
assurance of the bestowal of the gift is conveyed to us by
the ministry of the Priesthood ; the act of which, in pro
nouncing Absolution, is a proof to us of the reality of the
gift, because the ministry of the Priesthood was instituted
and appointed by Christ, and is commissioned by Him to
certify us of the fact of the gift. The act of the Priest or
Bishop, standing up in the congregation, while we are
kneeling on our knees, and in that attitude of authority
pronouncing Absolution and invoking God's pardon upon
us, in the Name of God " Who hath given power and com
mandment to his Ministers to declare and pronounce to his
people being penitent, the Absolution and remission of their
sins," is like a royal seal and authentic sign-manual attached
to a reprieve, brought by a royal officer and delegate to a
penitent criminal, and assuring him of pardon from his
Sovereign.
The Dove, which the Patriarch Noah saw returning to
6 See Condi. Tridentin. Sess. xiv. capp. 1 — 9, de Sacramento Paeni-
tenticB ; Bellarmine, lib. iv. de Paenitentid, torn. iii. ed. 1615, pp. 376 —
482, especially lib. iii. p. 435, where he says " that no one who has sinned
after baptism, can Jbe restored without the ministry of the Priest." Per-
rone, de Pcenitentid, pp. 341 — 354, ed. Paris, 1812. Cp. Hooker, VI. vi.
Bingham, vol. viii. p. 432.
Duties of Clergy and Laity. 209
him in the evening into the Ark, with the olive leaf plucked
off in her mouth, was not a cause of the assuaging of the
waters of the Flood (Gen. viii. 2), but it was a sign and
assurance to him that they were assuaged, and filled his
heart with thankfulness and joy. The wagons which Joseph
had sent, and which the Patriarch Jacob saw coming to him
from Egypt into Canaan, to carry him to tis beloved son,
whom he had thought to be dead (Gen. xlv. 27), were not a
cause of Joseph's restoration to life and to his father, but
they were a sure sign and confirmation to him of that which
he had hardly hoped, but which he now fully believed, and
therefore "his spirit revived, and he said; It is enough.
Joseph, my son, is yet alive ; I will go and see him before I
die" (Gen. xlv. 28).
Let the Clergy also recognize in their appointed office of
ministering the Holy Word and Sacraments, which God has
instituted as means and instruments for the forgiveness of
iniquities, and in their daily function of declaring and pro
nouncing Absolution and remission of the sins of others, a
constraining motive to keep themselves unspotted from the
world, and to endeavour to perfect holiness in the fear of
God (James i. 27. 2 Cor. vii. 1), "Physician, heal thy
self" (Luke iv. 23). It is an unseemly thing in the eyes
of God and men to profess to cleanse others, while we
ourselves are unclean; and to pretend to wash away the
stains of others, while our own hearts and hands are defiled
by sin. Therefore " be ye clean that bear the vessels of the
Lord" (Isaiah lii. 11).
Next, since the Priests of God's Church are spiritual
Physicians, and ought to be able to prescribe and apply
those spiritual medicines which are needed by the sick soul,
conscious to itself of sin, and in doubt, sorrow, and distress,
and even in agony and anguish of spirit, therefore they
ought to be diligent and unwearied in the study of God's
Holy Word, and of such other sacred Learning, as may best
qualify them by the grace given to earnest prayer for the
due discharge of their office in this difficult matter.7 " The
7 See Bishop Bull's excellent Sermon, Sermon vi. " The Priest's office
difficult and dangerous."
VOL. II. P
2 1 o Miscellanies.
Priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek
the law at his mouth" (Malachi ii. 7).
To our Lay brethren let me also say, — You owe a debt of
reverence, gratitude, and love to the Christian Priesthood.
It might have pleased God to save you without our help. He
might have saved you without our ministry, or without any
means of grace at all. But in order to bind you more
closely to us, and to join us to you in the bonds of the
nearest and dearest affection, He has made our office in
ministering the means of pardon and grace, — the Word of
God and Sacraments, and Prayer, — to be necessary to your
Salvation, wherever they may be had. And let no one
imagine our ministry to be a feeble thing, although, in
declaring and pronouncing Absolution and Remission of sins
in the daily office of Morning and Evening Prayer, or in
invoking God's pardon and blessing upon you in the Holy
Communion, or in lifting our hands over you in the stillness
of the private chamber, in the hours of sickness and of
death, and in saying those solemn words, — " By Christ's
authority, committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy
sins, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost," — we do not claim for ourselves the power to
give pardon, but only as heralds sent from God Himself, to
certify and assure you, that He is ever ready to be gracious
to you for His dear Son's sake, and that if you have true
repentance, lively faith, and fervent love to God and man,
and are resolved to forsake your sins, and to make reparation
for them, and heartily pray for pardon from Him, and for
the Grace of the Holy Ghost to enable you to keep your
good resolutions of amendment, He has washed away your
sins in the Blood of Christ, and will remember them no
more. - And let no one persuade you, that by whatever
name these forms of Absolution may be called, whether they
be declaratory, or precatory, or indicative, it matters little
by whom they are pronounced, and that they may as well be
uttered by an uuordained person, as by a Priest of the
Church of God. But be sure that God will bless your
faithful, obedient, and loving use of that Apostolic Ministry
which Christ has instituted for conveying God's pardon to
Duties of Clergy and Laity. 2 1 1
you, and in which the Divine Breath of Christ still lives and
moves, which He breathed on the Apostles themselves on
the evening of His Resurrection, when He said, " Receive
ye the Holy Ghost, Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are
remitted unto them."
p 2
PASTORAL LETTER, FOR THE BETTER OBSERVANCE
OF ASCENSION DAY.
To the Rev. the Clergy of the Diocese of Lincoln.
St. Mark's Day, April 25, 1871.
REV. AND DEAR SlR,
Let me express an earnest hope and desire that you
may be willing to help forward an united effort in all the
Parishes of the Diocese to promote a better observance of
ASCENSION DAY, which is now near at hand.
The Church, of which we are Members and Ministers, and
whose laws we are bound to obey, and to whose Liturgy we
have pledged ourselves to conform, has shown her sense of
the religious solemnity of that day, by providing for it a
special Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, and by appointing
Proper Psalms and Proper Lessons for it, and also a special
Preface to be used at the Holy Communion on that Festival.
You will bear with me, I trust, when I say, that if we
keep our Churches closed on Ascension Day, we disobey her
commands, and frustrate her pious care in these respects for
the good of her people, and deprive our flocks of that
spiritual food which she has provided for them, and to which
they have a rightful claim at our hands.
Let me add, that the special doctrines of the Christian
Faith, which are presented to our view on Ascension Day,
are urgently needed by us now on account of the peculiar
circumstances of the times in which we live.
At a time like the present, when some Nations and States
are casting aside the Laws of Christ, and when they think
that they can prosper without Christianity, it is necessary
that the Ministers of His Church should come forward boldly
and declare openly that Jesus Christ is Very God as well as
On the Observance of Ascension Day. 2 1 3
Very Man ; and that after He had laid down His life for us
on the Cross, and had raised Himself from the dead, and
had overcome Death and the Grave, He ascended up into
heaven, and is there enthroned " King of kings and Lord of
lords " (Rev. xvii. 14 ; xix. 16) ; and that He has " all power
in heaven and earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18), and is the Arbiter
of the destinies of Nations ; and that if they are not to feel
His wrath and indignation, all Kings must fall down before
Him, and all Nations must do Him service (Ps. Ixxii. 11) ;
and that He will come again in glory to summon all men,
Rulers as well as Subjects, Princes as well as People, to His
Judgment Seat; and will make His foes His footstool
(Acts ii. 35) ; and will put all things under His feet (1 Cor.
xv. 25).
At a time when the courage of many is failing, and when
some are falling away from the faith, even in our Schools,
Colleges, and Universities, and are "denying the Lord
that bought them " (2 Pet. ii. 1), it is fit that Preachers
of the Gospel should comfort the faint-hearted by assuring
them that they have a Great High Priest in heaven, Who is
ever interceding for them (Heb. vii. 25), and is offering
their prayers to the Father; and that He is also a Divine
Prophet, a faithful Witness, and Infallible Teacher of the
Truth; that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life"
(John xiv. 6), " the Light of the World " (John ix. 5) ; that
His words will never pass away (Matt. xxiv. 35), and that
He will judge the World itself by that Word which He has
spoken (John xii. 48).
At a time also when National Institutions seem about
to be dissolved ; when the old dynasties of the world are
falling into ruins; when nothing earthly or human ap
pears to be solid or stable, but all things around us seem
to be given to change and chance, it is specially needful that
the Ministers of God's Holy Word should cheer the hearts,
and confirm the minds, of the faithful, by directing their
eyes upward to that unchangeable Kingdom, and to that
unfading and incorruptible Inheritance which their Ascended
Lord has gone up into heaven to prepare for them (John
xiv. 3) ; and into which He will bring them, with glorified
214 Miscellanies.
bodies, at His Coming again in His awful Majesty at the
Great Day.
When many are " lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God " (2 Tim. iii. 4), and when the young especially are in
danger of being made victims and slaves of carnal appetites
and sensual indulgences, and of all their debasing effects in
this world and the next, it is surely a time for the Ministers
of the Gospel to endeavour to lift the thoughts of the people
upward to the HOLY ONE in heaven, and to warn all men
that " if we sow to the flesh we shall of the flesh reap
corruption " (Gal. vi. 8), and that if we, who are Christ's
members, are to be for ever in heaven with our Divine Head,
we must endeavour and pray for grace to " be holy as He
is holy" (1 Pet. i. 15), and "to perfect holiness in His
fear" (2 Cor. vii. 1).
In these and other respects, the Divine truths which are
embodied in the sacred services of ASCENSION DAY are of
unspeakable value to men and nations, especially in our own
age; and as we love our Country and our God, and are
watchful over the souls committed to our care by Christ,
and of which we shall have to give an account to Him at the
Great Day, we shall feel it, I trust, my Reverend Brethren,
to be our duty and our happiness, to conform to the require
ments of the Church, inviting us to worship our Ascended
Lord, and to set before the People those doctrines which are
presented for our meditation by the Scriptures, Prayers,
and Praises which she has appointed for our devout use on
the great Christian Festival of our Lord's Ascension into
heaven.
You may read this Pastoral, or any part of it, to your con
gregation; and you may express to them my hope and
desire that they will cordially co-operate with you, by
resorting gladly to their Parish Church on Ascension Day,
and also by coming to the Holy Communion, which I trust
will be administered by you, as the Church prescribes, on
that day.
If you are able, as I earnestly hope you will be, to comply
with these requests, I should further be obliged to you to
fill up the accompanying paper, specifying the number of
Synodical Act at Lincoln. 2 1 5
your Congregation at Church on that Day and at the Lord's
Table, and by returning it to me.
That the Divine Blessing may ever be with you, in this
and all your endeavours to promote God's glory and the
good of His People, is the fervent prayer of your faithful
and affectionate friend and brother in Christ,
C. LINCOLN.
The following extract from the "Acts of the DIOCESAN
SYNOD, held in the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, on Wed
nesday, September 20th, 1871," records the results of the
above Pastoral : —
" OBSERVANCE OF ASCENSION DAY.
" It appeared from replies to the Bishop's Pastoral Letter
on the subject, that the Festival of our Blessed Lord's Ascen
sion was observed with Divine Service in 615 Churches of
the Diocese, in the present year (1871) ; and the Synod
agreed in a recommendation that this Festival should be ob
served henceforth in all the Churches of the Diocese, with
Public Worship and Holy Communion."
PASTORAL LETTEE ON THE OBSERVANCE OF 1HE
ROGATION DAYS.
May 19, 1878.
REV. AND DEAR BROTHER,
The depressed state of the Agricultural interest in
this Diocese, and the critical condition of affairs, civil and
religious, at home and abroad, naturally lead us to raise our
eyes upward, and to seek for help by Prayer.
The Church having appointed certain days in next week
(Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day),
called Rogation Days, for supplication to Almighty God for
His blessing on the fruits of the earth, and for the depreca
tion of Divine judgments, and for intercession on behalf of
the Church and Realm, and for all conditions of men, I would
earnestly ask you to make the best use you are able of this
appointment and opportunity.
In the Homilies set forth by authority in the year 1563
(copies of which may be had of S.P.C.K. and of the Prayer
Book and Homily Society), there are four Sermons on the
proper observance and use of the Rogation Days. I would
suggest that on Sunday next you should preach to your
people on the subject.
Among the Proper Psalms and Proper Lessons which were
put forth in our Synod at Lincoln in 1871, for special occa
sions, and which may be found in pp. 73, 74 of OUT Diocesan
Calendar for this year, those for Rogation Days and for
Harvest may be used, at your discretion.1 There is a Prayer
for Peace in p. xv of the Calendar (see below, p. 221),
which is applicable; and let me suggest that of the two
Prayers in the " Book of Common Prayer ' in the time
of dearth/ " the first paragraph of the former and the last
1 See above, pp. 112, 113.
Observance of Rogation Days. 2 1 7
two paragraphs of the latter may be used, so as to form one
Collect. The Collects in the Prayer Book for the Second
Sunday after Epiphany, the fifth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and
twenty-second Sundays after Trinity, or any of them may be
used ; also the Prayer for Unity.
Hymns for the Rogation Days may be found in " Church
Hymns" of S.P.C.K., and in " Hymns Ancient and Modern ;"
and in other Hymn Books.
Let me take this opportunity of thanking you for your
ready compliance with the wish expressed by me in the
Pastoral Letter of 1871 for the better observance of ASCEN
SION DAY.
I am, Rev. and dear Sir,
Your faithful brother, &c.
C. LINCOLN.
For information concerning the institution and use of
Rogation Days reference may be made to Bingham's Anti
quities of the Church, Book xiii. chap. 1. Bookxxi. chap. 2;
Bruns, Concilia, Tom. ii. p. 165; Wheatly on the Common
Prayer, Sect. xx. ; Nelson's Fasts and Festivals, p. 426 ;
George Herbert's Country Parson (the Parson Condescend
ing), chap, xxxv., &c.
Postscript (Nov. 1878). Let me add, that the Hundred
Bishops who were assembled from all parts of the Anglican
Communion at the Lambeth Conference in July, 1878, recom
mended that the Tuesday before the Ascension Day, being
Rogation Tuesday, or any of the seven days after it, should
be observed as a Day of Intercession for Missions, and for
the Unity of Christendom ; and they expressed a hope that
the Bishops of the several Churches would recommend this
observance to their respective Dioceses.
ON SPECIAL FORMS OF PRAYER, FOR USE IN
CHURCHES AND CHAPELS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
I HAVE been asked, on several occasions, to put forth Special
Forms of Prayer ; and I have complied with this request.
In no case has the use of any of these Special forms been
enjoined by me ; but they have been freely used by the Clergy
in churches of the Diocese, and I have not received any re
monstrance against such use.
It has indeed been argued by some persons that such
forms, unless they are taken from the Bible, or from the Book
of Common Prayer, are in contravention of the Act of Uni
formity Amendment Act of 1872.
But it can hardly be imagined that the provisions of that
Act are more stringent than those of the Act of Uniformity
itself. Under our Acts of Uniformity since the Reformation
it has been the custom of Bishops to put forth special forms
of prayer for use in their own Dioceses. The best Canonists
(such as Van Espen and our own Joseph Bingham) affirm
it to be a right of Bishops to put forth such Forms. To men
tion one instance among many, Bishop Jewel put forth such
a form of Prayer on behalf of Christians under Mohammedan
Eule for use in all the Churches of his Diocese.1
If we are to imagine that the clause in question in the
Act of Uniformity Amendment Act prevents the use of any
other Form than those taken from the Bible or the Prayer
Book, then the most august persons in the Eealm must be
regarded as breakers of the Law. The use of the Corona-
1 See the Liturgical Services of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, published
by the Parker Society, Cambridge, 1847, p. 519.
On special Forms of Prayer. 2 1 9
tion Service, in which all the Estates of the Eealm take part
with the Sovereign, would be an illegal act, inasmuch as
the Act of Uniformity Amendment Act defines the Prayer
Book to mean the revised and sealed Book of 1661, in which
the Coronation Service is not contained.
And further, all those who officiate or join annually in the
use of the Service for the Queen's Accession are accomplices in
breaking the Law, for that Service for the Accession is not
in the Prayer Book of 1661. Then also the Archbishop of
Canterbury breaks the Law whenever, by desire of the
Queen in Council, he puts forth a Form of Prayer on any
national occasion. Then also the Bishops and Deans and
Chapters of every Cathedral and Collegiate Church are
breakers of the Law ; inasmuch as at the enthronement of
Bishops and at the installations of dignitaries they use
Forms which are not in the Bible nor in the Sealed Book of
1661.
On the whole it may be fairly argued as probable (I do not
speak confidently) that the intention of the framers of the
clause in the Act of Uniformity Amendment Act was, that
it should be construed together with the concurrent practice
of those persons who framed the Act. And I incline to this
opinion the rather, because, in the Act for Clerical Subscrip
tion, it is ordered that the Clergy should engage to use, in
their public ministrations, the Book of Common Prayer
and none other, except so far as shall be ordered by lawful
authority. This proviso contemplates the occasional use of
something external to the Prayer Book, when ordered " by
lawful authority."
It would indeed be a most humiliating acknowledgment
to say that the Church of England h'as been reduced to a
condition in which no other religious community in the
Empire is placed, that of being unable to utter a suitable
prayer or thanksgiving to Almighty God on special occasions
except in shackles which render the due performance of that
duty very difficult, and almost impossible.
The following Prayers have been suggested by me for use
in the Diocese of Lincoln : —
220 Miscellanies.
A Prayer for Missions and for Grace to Help Them.
0 LOBD JESU CHBIST, Saviour of Mankind, Who hast commanded Thy
disciples to go into all the World and to preach the Gospel to every
creature, and Who hast declared that this Gospel of the Kingdom shall
first be preached to all Nations, and that then the End shall come ; we
humbly beseech Thee to raise up men full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,
and send them forth to do the work of Evangelists by spreading abroad
the glad tidings of salvation ; and so to fill us with Thy love, and to
quicken us with Thy grace, that we may labour joyfully with them by
prayers and offerings for their work, so that finally at Thy Second
Coming to judge the World, we together with them, and with those who
have received the Gospel at their hands, may rejoice in Thy presence
with exceeding joy, and may praise Thee for evermore, our Holy and
most merciful Redeemer, our most worthy Judge Eternal, our most
mighty Lord and God, to Whpm with the Father and the Holy Ghost be
all honour and glory now and for ever. Amen.
And this :
O GOD the Father of lights, from Whom cometh every good and perfect
gift, we praise Thee for the glorious light of the Gospel, which Thou hast
given and preserved to us in this land for many generations ; we humble
ourselves before Thee for the unthankfulness of our hearts, and un-
fruitfulness of our lives ; and we heartily pray Thee to pardon us by Thy
mercy, and to quicken us by Thy Grace ; so that we, who have freely
received that blessed gift of Thy glorious Gospel, may freely impart it
to those who are in darkness and in sin ; and that hereafter we may rejoice
together with them in the everlasting light of Thy heavenly kingdom ;
through Jesus. Christ our Lord. Atnen.
Visit of H.It. H. the Prince of Wales to India.
0 ALMIGHTY GOD, Who fillest all things with Thy presence, and rulest
all things with Thy power, by Whom Kings reign and Princes decree
justice ; we humbly beseech Thee to bless Thy servant the PBINCE of
WALES in his visit to India. Be with him in his going out, and in his
coming in ; guide, govern, protect, preserve and prosper him in his ways ;
strengthen, support and sanctify him in his work ; grant that he may be
a blessed instrument in Thy hand for promoting the welfare of India, and
for spreading forth Thy Gospel, and advancing Thy Kingdom. Watch
over all who are near and dear to him, and bring him back in safety to
his own home, and finally receive him to Thy heavenly glory, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thanksgiving for the Return of H.B.H. the Prince of Wales
from India.
ALMIGHTY GOD, Giver of all good gifts, we praise Thy Divine Majesty
for preserving and prospering the PEINCE of WALES in his journey to
Special Forms of Prayer. 2 2 i
India, and for bringing him back in safety to his own home ; we thank
Thee for the loyal welcome with which he was there received, and we
humbly pray Thee, that, in Thine own due time, the Land which was
gladdened by his presence nlay receive with joy the blessed Gospel of the
Prince of Peace ; and that England, to whom Thou hast given India,
may rejoice in bringing India to Thee. We beseech Thee to continue
Thy favour to him, and so to guide him by Thy counsel, support him
with Thy help, and sanctify him with Thy grace, that he may serve and
glorify Thee, the KING of KINGS and LOBD of LOBDS ; and that at the
Great Day, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom
of our Lord and of His Christ, he may receive of Thee a crown of ever
lasting life, through Jesus Christ our Savidur, Who liveth and reigneth
with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Prayer in Time of Cattle-Plague.
ALMIGHTY LOBD GOD, Who, when a land sinneth against Thee, dost visit
it with Thy sore judgments ; we humbly beseech Thee to give us true
repentance, that we may bewail and forsake the sins which provoke Thy
wrath against us ; and we pray Thee, 0 Lord, of Thy great Mercy to
spare us, and to withdraw this Cattle- Plague from us, and to grant us
Thy grace to use all Thy gifts with thankful hearts, to Thy honour and
glory, to the good of others, and our own comfort, both in body and
soul, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for the Increase of the Episcopate, 1876-7.
O LOBD JESU CHBIST, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Who
didst continue all night in prayer, and then didst choose Thine Apostles,
and hast bidden us pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers
into His harvest to gather fruit to life eternal, and hast promised
to be with Thine Apostles alway, even unto the end of the world ;
we beseech Thee to quicken and bless the endeavours and offerings of
Thy people for an increase of Bishops in Thy Church [especially in this
Diocese], and to raise up faithful men for the work of the Apostleship,
in spreading forth Thy Gospel, in dispensing Thy Word and Sacraments,
in laying on of hands in Confirmation, in ordering of Priests and Deacons,
in ministering sound doctrine and godly discipline by driving away error
and by defence of Thy truth ; and in watchful oversight, wise and loving
guidance, and good government of Thy Church ; and to all who are called
to that holy office give Thy grace and heavenly benediction, that they may
faithfully serve before Thee to Thy honour and glory, Who livest and
reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, One God, blessed for
ever. Amen. _
Prayer for Peace, 1876-7.
O LOBD of hosts and God of battles, Who rulest all things in heaven
and earth, look down with pity on the nations now striving in war. Take
from them all pride, anger and wrath, hatred and revenge. Have com
passion on our suffering fellow-Christians ; deliver them from oppression
222 Miscellanies.
and wrong ; restore the Churches of the East to primitive purity and
truth, and join them together with us in the bonds of faith and love.
Have mercy on all Turks and Infidels; take from them all ignorance,
hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word, and so fetch them home,
Blessed Lord, to Thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant
o£ the true Israelites ; and may all Nations be made ONE FOLD under
ONE SHEPHEBD. Continue to us, we beseech Thee, the blessings of
Peace ; let not violence be heard in our gates, nor wasting and destruction
in our borders. Restrain the fierceness of man, and make it turn to Thy
praise, O God. And do Thou who makest Wars to cease in all the
world, pour down upon us, and upon all nations, the Spirit of Peace ; and
spread abroad the Gospel of Peace ; and finally bring us to the City of
Eternal Peace, the Heavenly Jerusalem, there to praise Thee everlastingly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for Mohammedans, and for Eastern Churches, 1876-7.
O RIGHTEOUS LOBD GOD, Who, for the sins of Thy people, dishonouring
their Christian profession by heresy and schism, superstition and unholi-
ness of life, didst suffer them in times past to fall into the hands of
Mohammedans, and hast permitted the religion of the false prophet to
overshadow the fair lands of the East ; we beseech Thee to quicken us
by the Holy Spirit, and give us grace to bewail and forsake the sins which
caused the rise and growth of Mohammedan unbelief, and which hinder
the conversion of the Moslem ; and so touch their hearts with the love of
Thy dear Son, and illumine their minds with the light of His blessed
Gospel, that they together with us, and with the once glorious Churches
of the East, raised up from their low estate, and shining brightly again
in the lands which were Thine heritage of old, may serve and worship
Thee, the God and Father of us all ; and being joined in one communion
and fellowship in the mystical body of Christ our Lord, and dwelling
together in faith and love, may come to Thy heavenly kingdom, there to
praise Thee everlastingly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, to Whom
with Thee and the -Holy Ghost, Three persons and One God, be all
honour and glory now and for evermore. Amen.
Thanksgiving for Peace, 1878.
ALMIGHTY GOD, Ruler of all things, Author of Peace and Lover of
concord, who makest wars to cease in all the world, we heartily thank
Thee for defending us from the dangers and miseries of war, and for
vouchsafing to us and to other nations the blessings of Peace. Give us
grace, we beseech Thee, to use them aright, by dwelling together as
brethren in love and peace ; by spreading abroad in other lands the Gospel
of Peace : and by preparing the way for the glorious appearing of the
Great God our Saviour, the Prince of Peace; so that finally we may all
come to the City of eternal Peace, the heavenly Jerusalem, there to praise
Thee everlastingly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. A men.
Special Forms of Prayci . 223
The following Psalms, or any of them may be used. Psalms xxix.,
xlvi., Ixxii., cxxii., cxxv., cxlvii.
And the following Lessons : —
Isaiah xxvi. 1 — 14.
Isaiah xxxii.
Ephesians ii.
Eevelation xxi. to xxii. 6.
The following translation of the Prayer for Unity was
made by me at the request of His Grace the President, for
use in the Convocation of this Province : —
DEUS OMNIPOTENS, Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Qui noster est
unicus Salvator, Princeps Pacis, da nohis qusesumus gratiam Tuam, ut
ad pericula quibus versamur propter misera nostra dissidia serio cor appo-
namus ; odia oinnia et prsejudicatas opiniones procul a nobis averte, et
quicquid piae unitati et concordise possit esse impedimento ; ut quoniam
unum est Corpus, unus Spiritus, una Spes vocationis nostrse, unus
Dominus, una Fides, unum Baptisma, unus universorum Deus et Pater,
ita unum deinceps sit nobis cor, et unus animus, et uno sancto Veritatis
et Pacis, Fidei et Caritatis, vinculo consociemur, et omnes una mente et
uno ore Te glorificemus, per Jesum Christum Dominum Nostrum. Amen.
The following have been put forth by me for use in
Collegiate Institutions in the Diocese of Lincoln : —
A Prayer for St. Paul's Mission Souse, Burgh, Lincolnshire (1878).
0 ALMIGHTY GOD, Who on the Day of Pentecost didst send down tongues
of fire on the heads of Thy Holy Apostles, to teach them and to lead them
into all truth, giving them both the gift of divers languages and also
boldness with fervent zeal to preach the Gospel to all nations ; raise up,
we pray Thee, Thy power, and come among us, and with great might
succour us. Bless, O Lord, this House, and give the fulness of Thy
grace to all who teach and to all who learn therein. Send forth from it
men full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, mighty in the Scriptures, able
ministers of the New Testament, workmen that need not be ashamed,
rightly dividing the Word of Truth ; prepared and willing to endure
affliction, to do the work of Evangelists, and to make full proof of their
ministry. Give them the Spirit of power and love, and of a sound mind. Give
them the gift of learning languages ; inspire their hearts, sanctify their
lips. And upon the seed of Thy Word sown by them pour down, 0 Lord,
we beseech Thee, the continual dew of Thy heavenly blessing, that it may
take root downwards and bear fruit upwards, to Thy honour and glory,
and to a joyful ingathering of a spiritual harvest of Nations at the Great
Day of Harvest, to glorify for ever Thy Holy Name, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
224 Miscellanies.
Prayer for the Theological School at Lincoln (1875).
O Gor>, who on the Day of Pentecost didst send down tongues of fire on
the heads of Thy holy Apostles, to teach them and lead them into all
truth, giving them boldness, with fervent zeal, to preach the Gospel to all
nations ; Raise up, we pray Thee, Thy power and come among us, and
with great might succour us ; Bless, O Lord, this Theological School ; give
Thy Holy Spirit to all who teach and to all who learn therein, and send
forth from it men full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, mighty in the
Scriptures, able ministers of the New Testament, examples to their flock
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity; workmen
that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth ; prepared
and willing to endure afflictions, to do the work of Evangelists, and to
make full proof of their Ministry ; and upon the seed of Thy Word sown
by them pour down, 0 Lord, we beseech Thee, the continual dew of Thy
heavenly blessing, that it may take root downwards, and bear fruit
upwards, to Thy honour and glory, and to a joyful ingatheritig of a
spiritual harvest of souls at the Great Day of Harvest, to glorify for ever
Thy holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for a due supply of able and faithful Ministers of the Word
and Sacraments, and for the gifts of spiritual grace to fit them for
their work.
ALMIGHTY GOD, Whose strength is perfected in our weakness, from
Whom alone are the preparations of the heart, and Who dost create the
fruit of the lips ; Who didst promise to be with the mouth of Thy servant
Moses, and didst give the Holy Spirit to the sweet Psalmist of Israel, and
didst give wisdom to King Solomon in answer to his prayer ; and didst
touch the lips of Isaiah with sacred fire, and didst sanctify Jeremiah and
John the Baptist from their mother's womb, and didst reveal Thyself in
glory to the holy Prophet Ezekiel, and didst give visions by an angel to
Daniel, the man greatly beloved, and to the beloved disciple St. John ;
Who didst call Andrew and Peter from their nets, and Matthew from the
seat of custom, to be Apostles ; and Luke the beloved Physician to be an
Evangelist and Physician of the soul ; and didst send down tongues of
lire on the heads of Thine Apostles : and didst enable St. Stephen to
see heaven opened and Jesus standing on the right hand of God ; and
dost promise by St. James to give wisdom to them who ask it of Thee ;
we beseech Thee to raise up for the work of the Ministry an abundant
supply of faithful and able men, counting it all joy to spend and be spent
for the sake of Thy dear Son, and for the souls for which He shed His
most precious Blood upon the Cross ; and we pray Thee to fit them for
their holy calling by Thy bountiful grace and heavenly benediction,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and
the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end. Amen.
In connexion with the Theological School the name of
the Kev. Edward White Benson, D.D., Chancellor of the
Cathedral Church, Lincoln, under whom that School was
The Bishop-designate of Truro. 225
revived, ought ever to be held in grateful remembrance. The
following Prayers were used, with others, in Bishop Aln-
wick's Tower, Old Palace, Lincoln (restored for the use of
the Theological Students), on the occasion of the presenta
tion of a ring and cross to Dr. Benson, first Warden of the
Lincoln Society of Mission Clergy, by the members of the
Society, on his designation for the See of Truro : —
MOST MEHCIFUL FATHEE, we beseech Thee to send down Thy heavenly
blessing upon this Thy servant, whom Thou hast been pleased to call to
the office and work of a Bishop in Thy Church ; and to endue him with
the Holy Spirit, that he, preaching Thy word, may be earnest to reprove,
beseech, and rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine ; and may be to
such as believe a wholesome example in word, in conversation, in charity,
in spirit, in faith, and purity ; that so fulfilling his course he may at the
latter day receive the crown of righteousness laid up by the Lord, the
righteous Judge, for all who love His appearing ; who liveth and reigneth
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, One God, world without end.
Amen.
The Bishop of Lincoln, delivering the Cross to the Bishop designate,
said :
BROTHER, receive this Cross in the Name, and for the sake of Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified. May He give thee grace to glory only in
the Cross : to crucify all sinful affections ; to be crucified to the world,
and to have the world crucified to thee. May He whose hands were
pierced for thee upon the cross be fixed for ever in thy heart. And when
He Who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and Whogare Himself
for the sheep, shall appear again in glory, mayest thou receive from Him
a crown of everlasting life, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us pray.
O LORD JESUS CHEIST, the great and everlasting High Priest, Who in
Thy tender love didst offer Thyself upon the cross for the sins of the
whole world, and hast purchased to Thyself an universal Church with
Thy most precious Blood, we humbly pray Thee to bless this Thy Servant ;
and as Aaron the Priest did bear upon his breast the Urim and Thummin
of Light and Perfection, engraved with the Twelve names of the Twelve
Tribes of Thy people Israel, so may this Thy Priest and Bishop have
Thy people ever near to his heart, and may he love them with a perfect
love for Thy sake ; and be alway illumined with the light, and filled
with the fulness of the Holy Spirit of Light and Perfection, through Thy
merits, Who art the Light of the world, and Who livest and reignest
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Bishop, delivering the Ring to the Bishop-Designate, said:
BROTHER, receive this ring : the Emblem of Eternity ; the Seal of Faith ;
and the Symbol of Charity.
VOL. II. Q
226 Miscellanies.
Whatever thou sealest upon earth may it be sealed in heaven w hat-
ever thou openest on earth may it be opened in heaven : mayest thou
bring forth things new and old from the treasure of God's Holy Word ;
mayest thou bring forth spiritual fruits from the enclosed garden and
mayest thou lead forth living waters from the sealed fountain of His
Church, in the ministry of the Word and Sacraments ; mayest thou be
ever as a signet on the right hand of the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords ; and as He espoused to himself the Church in mystical wedlock to
be his Bride, so mayest thou, for His sake, love and defend the Church
committed to thy care ; and may its people be the seal of thine Apostle-
ship, and be among those who are sealed in their foreheads at the Great
Day ; and may they with thee be among the blessed ones for ever who
are called to the Marriage of the Bride and of the Lamb in Heaven.
Amen,
Prayer for the Society of Missioners in the Diocese of Lincoln.
GBANT, 0 Lord, we beseech Thee, that the dispensation of the Gospel
committed unto Thy Missioners in this City and Diocese may be magnified
in the increase of Thy flock. Give unto them insight, boldness, and
love. Crown Thy work with conversions and bountiful grace, and save
us miserable sinners for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Then ^vas said the Prayer for the Theological School at the Old
Palace, Lincoln (see above p. 224).
After gome other Prayers, and an Address from the Bishop-
designate of Truro, then followed the Benediction.
ON CHURCH MUSIC.
WE know by experience (if we examine the records of
history) what beneficent changes have been wrought by
Christianity in the moral and social condition of mankind ;
but perhaps we have been slow to recognize the salutary
effects which the Gospel has conferred upon us by the purifi
cation and elevation of Literature and the Fine Arts ; such
as Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Music.
Suppose that one of the great Architects of Antiquity,
such as those that designed the Parthenon at Athens, or
the Pantheon at Rome, were revived from his grave, and
were brought into one of our own Cathedrals, or into one
of our noble Parish Churches, on some choral festival, what
would be his feelings in beholding it ? Would it not
awaken in his mind a new world of sensations ? And when
he was informed what was the spiritual significance of the
sacred fabric, and of its constituent parts, and how its out
ward form symbolized everlasting truths of infinite im
portance, and when he learnt and felt what those truths
are, would he not be lost in admiration at the scene un
folded to his senses, and to the inner eye of the mind ?
What again, would be the emotions of some ancient sculptor
— a Phidias or a Polycletus — in beholding the recumbent
figure of some ancient Christian Warrior, with his hands
folded across his breast, in the silent attitude of prayer?
What would be the emotions of some ancient Painter — an
Apelles or a Zeuxis — in contemplating the form of the
Incarnate Deity, in His glorious Transfiguration, or in His
triumphant Ascension into Heaven ?
Such spectacles as these, when rightly interpreted, would
Q 2
228 Miscellanies.
have excited iu the heart of noble-minded heathens feelings
of devout awe and rapturous ecstasy, such as would show
us what an ines timable treasure we possess in Christianity,
not only as a perfect system of the purest morality, but
also as a holy instrument for elevating, refining, and spiri
tualizing the highest faculties of our nature, — our Fancy,
our Imagination, and our Affections, — and for ministering
to them wholesome nourishment, and affording them holy
enjoyment, and exquisite delight.
Again, how rich a mine of Sacred Hymnology should we
possess if we had the works of some great lyric Poet of
Antiquity won over to the Gospel, some Christianized Pindar
or Alc89us, the strings of his heart vibrating with the breath
of the Holy Ghost, and celebrating the heroic conquests of
Saints and Martyrs, and chanting the glorious triumphs
achieved by our Divine King and Conqueror Jesus Christ
over our spiritual foes, Sin, Satan, and Death.
The Gospel of Christ has aimed to spiritualize Music
and consecrate Poetry. It had the noble precedents of the
Hebrew Prophets and Psalmists in this glorious work. Mark
how it performed it. It laid the foundations deep in Chris
tian doctrine. The Apostle St. Paul declares that the first
office of Christian Hymnology and of Christian Music is to
teach. "Let the Word of Christ (he says) dwell in you
richly ; teaching and admonishing one another" literally,
putting one another in mind of God's Attributes and Acts,
4' in Psalms," that is, in songs with instrumental accom
paniment, *' and Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord/'
The history of Hymnology in the Christian Church testifies
to the observance of this Apostolic precept. One of the
earliest notices that we have of a Christian congregation is
found in the letter of a heathen Magistrate to a Roman
Emperor, and records that Christians met together before
daybreak to sing praises to Christ as God; ' and we know
from other sources that the great doctrine of Christ's Divi
nity was the life and soul of primitive Hymnology ! 2 The
1 Plin. Epist. x. 97. " Euseb. Hist. Eccl. v. 28.
On Church Music — Hymns, 229
noblest hymn in the world — the Te Deum — may be called a
Christian Creed; and the Christian Creeds, which were
usually sung, may be entitled Christian Hymns.
The greatest Theologian of the Western Church, S. Augus
tine, when yet young, was melted into tears by the hymns
of S. Ambrose at Milan.3 Those hymns of that great Italian
Bishop have nothing of those vague generalities, without
clear dogmatic statements, nothing of that tinsel prettiness,
nothing of those luxuriant flourishes and glittering flashes,
which too often mar the beauty and impair the use of
modern Hymnology. Their style is terse, clear, vigorous,
grand, and noble ; it loves to place before the eye and the
ear the great truths of the Gospel in simple and severe
language.4 He endeavours to build up men in holiness of
life on the solid foundations of sound doctrine; and to make
Music and Poetry to be handmaids of the Faith. That great
Champion of the Truth knew well that it is the primary and
paramount duty of Christian Music and Poetry to edify the
mind as well as to gratify the ear ; and that Hymns ought
to be profitable to be read, as well as agreeable to be sung,
S. Ambrose wrote his Hymns in order to supply wholesome
doctrinal food to his flock, and to preserve Italy from the
hostile ravages of the Arian heresy ; 8 and we know that
when an Arian faction besieged his Church at Milan, the
people within its walls resorted to spiritual weapons; and
8 S. Augustine, Confessions, x. 6 and 7.
4 See Biraghi's preface to his edition of " Inni sinceri di Sant' Am-
brogio," p. 7, Milano, 1862 ; and see above Vol. I. pp. 141 — 143.
6 S. Ambrose says that the Arians complained that he had bewitched
the people of Milan by his hymns. The people had first been bewitched
by Arianism itself, and his hymns were an antidote to it. See his
Sermon against Auxentius (in his Epistles), Ep. xxi. : — " Hymnorum
meorum carminibus deceptum populum ferunt. Plane nee hoc abnuo.
Grande carmen (a powerful charm) quo nihil potentius. Quid enitn
potentius quam confessio Trinitatis quse quotidie totius populi ore cele-
bratur? Certatim omnes student fidem fateri, Patrem, Filium, et
Spiritum Sanctum norunt versibus prsedicare, facti sunt igitur omnes
magistri qui vix poterunt esse discipuli."
False teachers have ever used Hymnology as a vehicle for spreading
their erroneous doctrine. This was done in ancient times by Paul of
Samosata, Arius, and others.
230 Miscellanies.
excited their own Christian courage with the singing of
Psalms.6
Another great teacher of the ancient church, who was a
happy instrument in God's hands for maintaining the doc
trine of the Blessed Trinity, followed his example, and
defended the faith, and contended against heresy, by
Hymns. This was S. Hilary. So did Ephraim the Syrian ;
and S. Augustine in Africa endeavoured to guard his
flock against the Donatistic schism by means of metrical
Psalmody.7
If our own Parochial Choirs were now asked this ques
tion, — What is the first duty of Hymn-writers and Hymn-
ology, what is the noblest privilege of Composers of Sacred
Music, and of those who execute it by musical instruments
or by the human voice ? — would they unhesitatingly answer
— Their first duty is to teach sound doctrine and thus to save
souls ? Is this truth duly realized by ourselves ? We all
know what effects are produced in other communions, and
not the least in this Diocese, by means of Hymns pro
pagating their peculiar tenets, stimulating the mind with
religious excitement, and stirring it with feverish emotions,
and even, alas ! sometimes with fanatical enthusiasm and
presumptuous self-assurance, which is mistaken for faith.
We have lost many from our communion by the lack of
distinct, definite, dogmatic teaching ; and among all the
instruments for such teaching few are more effective than
Hymns. A Hymn will often penetrate where a Sermon will
never reach. If it be committed to the memory in our
childhood, it will travel with us in our journeys, it will go
abroad with us into distant lands, and accompany us into
the public streets, and in green fields, and by the river side,
and in thick forests and on lofty mountains, it will cheer us
in sad and solitary hours, and in long and lonely days, and
wakeful nights, and on the sick-bed, and at the hour of
death.
Is it not therefore very desirable that earnest attention
6 S. Ambrose, Epist. 20.
7 In his " Psalmus Abecedarius contra partem Donati." Opera, vol. ix.
. 42.
True uses of Hymns. 231
should be given by our Parochial Choirs, and by those who
have the management of them, whether they be Parochial
Clergy, or Parochial Organists and Teachers, to the great
work of sound religious teaching by means of Sacred
Music ? Sound, Scriptural Hymns, in clear and vigorous
language, setting forth the doctrines of the Christian Faith,
in connexion witn the Seasons of the Christian Year (such
as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Rogation
days, Ascensiontide; Whitsuntide, Trinity Sunday), would
do much to fix those doctrines in the minds of the people,
and to rivet their affections to the Church. Might it not,
then, be hoped, that the defective and inadequate notions
on Christian doctrine, which are now too prevalent among
us, would be corrected, and that the unhappy divisions,
which now distract us, would be healed ? and thus we
might look, by God's grace, to be joined together in one
holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and be
better prepared to take our part with Saints and Angels
hereafter in one harmonious concert of praise in the Church
glorified in heaven.
The service of God is a reasonable service.8 " God is a
Spirit ; and they that worship Him, must worship Him in
Spirit and in truth."9 Everything we do, especially all that
we do in God's House, is to be done with a view to His
glory, and to the edification of His people. It is related of
one of the greatest ancient Fathers and Bishops of Christen
dom, St. Athanasius, that he was careful so to order the
musical services of his own Cathedral at Alexandria, that
all that was sung there might be intelligible to the whole
congregation. And another great Bishop and Father of
the African Church, St. Augustine> uses these words :
" Whenever I perceive that I derive more pleasure from the
singing in a Church than from the words that are sung, then
I am guilty of sin, and I had rather not hear the voices of
them that sing."1 And St. Paul says, "In the Church I
had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I
s Rom. xii. 1.
'•' John iv. 24; and sec 1 Cor. x. 31 ; xiv. 26.
1 S. Augustine, Confess, x. 35.
232 Miscellanies.
might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an
unknown tongue."2
Here, therefore, is an admonition to ourselves, not to
introduce into our Churches any Hymns or other com
positions to which we cannot listen with spiritual edifica
tion ; and also to take care that our Music is such as not to
drown the sense of the words in the sounds to which they
are set, and such as not to draw us off from worshipping
God to pleasing and idolizing ourselves.
Next, they who take the lead in the musical services of a
Church (they who " stand in the house of the Lord, even in
the courts of the house of our God, to praise the Lord, and
to laud the Name of the Lord " 3) will not fail to estimate
aright their own privileges and duties. Theirs is a holy
office. They will pray for grace to perform it aright. They
will not forget in Whose presence they are, and to Whom
they are offering prayer or praise, — " the High and Holy
One, Who inhabiteth Eternity," — Who has said, " I will be
sanctified in them that come nigh Me."
In singing praise to Him, they will remember that He
not only hears the voice, but reads the thoughts. They
will, therefore, bear in mind, that there is one instrument
above all others which they must endeavour to keep in
tune, — that instrument is the heart. The heart is the chief
musical instrument in every Christian choir. Let us listen
to God's words : " This people draweth nigh unto Me with
their lips, but their heart is far from Me." " My son," He
says, " give Me thine heart." Therefore, when the members
of our choirs take their places in Church, let them first take
care to kneel down devoutly and reverently on their knees,
and pray to God, " Make me a clean heart, O God ; renew
a right spirit within me. 0 God, my heart is ready, my
Jieart is ready ; I will sing and give praise with the best
member that I have." " I will sing with the spirit, and I
will sing with the understanding also."4
Next, they will keep a watch over their lips. Their lips
2 1 Cor. xiv. 19. 3 Ps. cxxxiv. 2; cxxxv. 1.
4 1 Cor. xiv. 15.
Duties of Church Choirs. 233
are holy to the Lord ; they were consecrated to God when
they were admitted into the choir, and were set apart to His
service. What then ? Shall any impure or profane language ,
shall any bitter or angry words, ever proceed out of their
mouths ? Heaven forbid ! Will they pollute those lips
which are consecrated to God ? Will they ever defile them
with unchaste or ribald songs ? " Doth a fountain send
forth sweet water and bitter ? Can a fig-tree bear olive-
berries, or a vine figs ? So can no fountain both yield salt
water and fresh."' They will pray to God, " Set a watch,
O Lord, before my mouth, aud keep the door of my lips."
Thus their lips will be like the lips of the righteous, which
feed many,6 and their tongue will be like a tree of life.7
Above all, they will set a watch over their life. To sing
holy music, and not to lead a holy life, is hypocrisy. It is
self-condemnation ; 8 it is hateful to God. It may enjoy
some fugitive pleasures upon earth, but it can never lead to
the bright and holy choir of saints and angels in heaven.
To all who sing holy songs, and live unholy lives, God says
by the prophet, " Take thou away from Me the noise of thy
songs ; I will not hear the melody of thy viols ; " 9 " Woe
unto them that chant to the sound of the viol, and regard
not the work of the Lord." *
But the members of our choirs will not be so. They will
pray fervently for grace to use their gifts aright; they
will rejoice to go to God's altar, and to receive fresh
supplies of grace there, and to be united as a holy brother
hood with one another and with Christ, in the Holy
Communion of His Blessed Body and Blood.
The cause of Sacred Music is no other than the cause
of sound teaching, and of holy living. The Music of a
Church is a sure index of its doctrine. They who are
familiar with the present state of Music in continental
churches know and deplore that it has greatly declined and
8 James iii. 11, 12. « Prov. x. 21.
7 Prov. xv. 4.
8 " Bene loqui, et suaviter Psalmos cantare, et male vivere, nihil aliud
est quam sua se voce damnare." — S. Augustine.
9 Amos v. 23. ' Amos vi. 3. Isa. v. 12.
234 Miscellanies.
degenerated ; 2 and that the service of Almighty God is too
often blemished and marred by a florid and operatic music,
fitter for a Theatre than for a Church ; and which seems
intended rather to excite passionate emotion, than to pro
duce religious action ; and to electrify, rather than to edify.
God grant that the Music of the Church of England may
never share this unhappy fate ! Let us take warning from
what we see around us. Let us take care that whatever is
sung in the choir may be ministerial to what is read in the
Church from the Bible, and to what is said in it from the
Book of Common Prayer. What is played by the Organ is,
or ought to be, an efficient help to what is preached from
the Pulpit. Let not the grand compositions of our own
English School of Music, — ennobled by the names of a
Tallis, a Purcell, a Croft, a Boyce, and a Handel, — and
characterized by grand and solemn simplicity, admirably
adapted to the grave sobriety and chaste dignity of our
Anglican worship, be sacrificed to, and supplanted by, the
more artificial and meretricious compositions of an exotic
growth, which, however wonderful as works of musical
genius and musical skill, and therefore more difficult of
execution (and often unsuccessfully executed) are not so
conducive to the high purposes of Sacred Music, as presented
to us by the Apostle, when he said, " Let the word of God
dwell in you richly ; teaching and admonishing one another
in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord ;" and let us one and all
so order ourselves in His house, that by a right use of its
holy services, we may, through His grace and infinite good
ness, in our adorable Lord and Saviour, be qualified at length
to be translated from His Church on Earth, and to take our
places and our parts in chanting His praise with the Holy
Angels and Saints glorified in Heaven, for evermore.
2 This is acknowledged by many continental writers. See, for example,
the lamentations of a celebrated Italian writer, Cicognara, on the degra
dation of Music in Italy. Storia di Scultura, vol. vii. c. i. p. 15 — 21.
ON HYMNS FOR THE CHURCH OF
ENGLAND.
As has been already observed, the proper use of Hymns has
been declared by St. Paul. " Let the Word of Christ," he
says, " dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs; singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."1
And again, St. Paul says, "Be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to yourselves (i. e. reciprocally) in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord ; giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ;"2 and again he says, " I will sing with the spirit,
and I will sing with the understanding also." 3
Hence it appears that the true purposes of whatever is
sung in public worship are, —
1. To teach; that is, to be a vehicle of sound doctrine.
One of the best examples of the application of this principle
is to be seen in the " Te Deuni."
2. To admonish one another ; that is, to put one another in
mind* of God's attributes, and of His gracious doings to
men. Therefore a Hymn Book for public worship ought to
contain historical records of His works under the Law and
under the Gospel, with ascriptions of praise, arising from a
consideration of those works.
Examples of this may be seen in the historical Psalms,
such as the Ixxviiith, the cvth, and the cvith ; and in such
Hymns as the Benedictus, the Nunc Dimittis, and the
Magnificat in the New Testament.
1 Col. iii. 16. « Eph. v. 19, 20.
3 1 Cor. xiv. 15.
4 Such is the meaning of the original word used here by St. Paul.
236 Miscellanies.
3. The singing of Hymns in public worship is a reasonable
service. It ought to exercise the faculties of the under
standing, and to kindle and elevate the affections of the
heart. " 1 will sing with the spirit" says the Apostle ; " I
will sing with the understanding also ;" and he exhorts us
to " sing with grace, and to make melody in our hearts."
4. The songs of the Church ought to be addressed to the
Lord. They ought to promote His glory. St. Paul's pre
cepts concerning Church- music are closed with the exhorta
tion, "Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the
Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by Him." A Hymn Book for public worship ought not to
be a medium for the expression of the personal feelings of
the individual, concentrating his thoughts on himself; but
it ought to give utterance to the united mind of the faithful,
looking upward to heaven and joining with one heart and
voice in praising and magnifying God.
Another requisite of a Hymn Book for use in Public
Worship, is, that it should follow the guidance of the Church,
and be adjusted to her Ritual. A Hymn Book of the Church
ought to represent the mind of the Church. It ought to
show an intelligent appreciation of her intentions, and a
dutiful submission to her appointments. In a word, a Hymn
Book of the Church of England ought to be a companion
to the Book of Common Prayer.
In framing her BOOK OP COMMON PEAYER, the Church of
England has endeavoured to dispense spiritual food to her
people in due season; that is, she designed to set before
them the principal articles of Christian Faith and Practice
in an orderly manner, so that each Season of her year, and
almost every Sunday and Holiday throughout it, should
teach its own appropriate lesson of doctrine and duty. '
This proposition may be illustrated by one or two
examples, commencing with the first season of the Christian
Year, — that of ADVENT.
On examining the portions of Holy Scripture which the
Church of England has appointed to be used on the Sundays
in the season of Advent, and on comparing them with those
prescribed in the Ancient Liturgies of the Western Church
Hymns for the Season of Advent. 237
for that season, we find that the Church of England has
carefully followed the order of the early Church in this
respect, and has engrafted into her own Office those parts of
Holy Scripture which had been used from time immemorial
at that period of the year.
Those portions of Holy Scripture relate generally to the
FIRST and SECOND ADVENT of Christ, and inculcate the duties
consequent on the First Advent, or Coming of Christ to
save, and on His Second Advent, or Coming, to judge the
world.
But this is not all. The Ancient Church reminded her
people, that Christ, Who came once to save, and Who will
come again to judge, is now continually coming to every
member of the Church.
The Ancient Church taught, in the Season of Advent,
that Christ is now ever coming to every Christian in the
following ways, viz.
1. In the Holy Scriptures, which are His Word; and
2. That He is also ever coming to all, by those whom
He has appointed to be Ministers of His Holy Word and
Sacraments; and ,
3. That He is ever coming to His faithful people in the
times of their trials and distresses, to comfort and deliver
them.
This doctrine of Christ's continual Coming to every Chris
tian was present to the mind of the greatest Teachers of
the Western Church,5 and is embodied in her Liturgies.
Solomon says, " Give instruction to a wise man, and he
will be yet wiser; ' teach a just man, and he will increase in
learning." So it was with the Church of England. In the
structure of her religious offices for the season of Advent,
she followed the guidance of the Ancient Church ; and, with
reverence be it said, she improved upon it.7 She happily
8 See for example the admirable exposition in S. Augustine's Epistle
to Hesychius, Epist. cxcix. § 25 : Christus usque ad finem sseculi venire
non cessat.
* Prov. ix. 9.
7 The Collects for the Second and Third Sundays in Advent, which
give the key-note to the special teaching of those Sundays respectively,
238 Miscellanies.
caught and appropriated the instructive and comfortable
doctrine of Christ's perpetual Coming ; —
1 . In Holy Scripture ;
2. In the Ministry of the, Church; and
3. In times of trouble ; and she gave greater clearness
and prominence to that doctrine.
She took good care that her people should not forget the
great fundamental truth of Christ's FIRST ADVENT to save,
and of His SECOND ADVENT to judge the world; and, there
fore, she set in the forefront of the season of Advent the
collect, " Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away
the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life in which Thy Son Jesus
Christ came to visit us in great humility ; that in the last
day when He shall come again in His glorious majesty to
judge both the quick and dead, we may rise to the life
immortal through Him who liveth and reigneth with Thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen." And she
ordered that this Collect should be repeated every day,
together with the other collects in Advent, until Christmas
Eve.
Having thus secured the great doctrines of Christ's FIRST
ADVENT, which is past, and His SECOND ADVENT, which is
future, she next provided for that of His continual Coming,
by which He is eyer present ; and she exhorted her people
to meditate on the three modes in which He is continually
coming to them ; —
1. In Holy Scripture;
2. By the Christian Ministry ;
3. In and by trials and troubles : and is thus ever pre
paring them for His future Second Coming to Judgment.
The first of these three modes of Christ's Coming in
brought before their eyes in the Second Sunday in Advent,
by the Collect "Blessed Iford, who hast caused all Holy
Scriptures to be written for our learning ; " and by the
Epistle, "Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were
are peculiar to the English Liturgy. That for the Second Sunday was
composed in 1549 ; that for the third in 1661.
A Hymn Book adjusted to the Prayer Book. . 239
written for our learning, that we through patience and com
fort of the Scriptures might have hope."
The second mode of Christ's Coming is presented in the
Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent, " O Lord Jesu
Christ, Who at Thy first coming didst send Thy Messenger
to prepare Thy way before Thee, grant that the Ministers
and Stewards of Thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and
make ready Thy way/' &c. ; and by the Epistle, ' ' Let a man
so account of us as of the Ministers of Christ, and Stewards
of the mysteries of God/' &c.
The Church has also given greater emphasis to this
doctrine of Christ's continual Coming in His Ministers, by
connecting this Sunday with one of her four Ember Seasons,
when she sets apart and sends forth persons to serve in the
sacred Ministry of His Church, in order that Christ may
ever come by the Word and Sacraments dispensed by them.
In the Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent we are
comforted with the assurance, that, although " through our
manifold sins and wickedness we are sore let and hindered
in running the race that is set before us/' yet we may look
for help and deliverance through Christ " 0 Lord, raise
up, we pray Thee, Thy power, and come among us, and with
great might succour us." And the Epistle reminds us that
the Lord is ever " at hand," and that therefore we need not
be "careful," — or distracted by anxieties, — but that in
everything we should resort to God by prayer and suppli
cation with thanksgiving, and then the peace of God which
passeth all understanding will keep our hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
A Church Hymn Book ought to follow the leading of the
Church. It ought to be adapted to her Services.
In our popular Hymn Books we have many Hymns of a
general character for the season of Advent ; but we have few
Hymns comparatively of a special kind for the particular
Sundays of that season. We have few which refer to the
several modes just specified, in which Christ is ever coming
to His Church.
Still further, they who have studied the early Christian
Liturgies, and are conversant with the writings of Christian
240 Miscellanies.
Antiquity, especially with the Homilies of the Fathers on
the Seasons of the Church, will be thankful to Almighty
God for the wisdom with which He endued her, so to order
and arrange her FESTIVALS, as to bring out, in strong relief,
the great doctrine of the INCARNATION of the Son of God, as
the source of all grace to man in doing and suffering; and so
as to suggest, as a consequence therefrom, the blessed assur
ance, that, to all who are incorporated in Christ, Death is
not death, but is birth to everlasting life.
Therefore, the Days on which the Martyrs of the Church
suffered for Christ are called by her their Birthdays ; 8 and
those days are happily connected by her with CHRISTMAS,
the Birthday of Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life,
and by Whose Birth in our nature we, at our death, have
entrance into life eternal.
In the ritual of the Church the Birthday of Christ, — the
Nativity of God with us, the true and faithful Martyr,* — is
followed on the morrow by the death-day, or rather the birth
day into everlasting life, of the first Martyr, St. Stephen ;
and that is succeeded by the Festival of St. John the Evan
gelist; and that by the Festival of the holy Innocents.
Thus the Church declares, that Martyrdom for Christ in
will though not in deed, and in deed though not in will, leads
to birth into endless life, not less than Martyrdom both in
will and deed, and that all their blessings flow/rom the well-
spring of all Love in the Father, and through the Birth of
the Son of God in our human life.1 Thus, in the words of
8 TevfdXia, or " Natalitia." Cp. Bingham, Eccles, Antiq. XX. vii. 2.
Wheatly on the Common Prayer, c. v. § iii,
9 Rev. i. 5 ; iii, 14.
1 See S. Greg. Nyssen. in S. Stephan. ii. p. 786, and S. Augustine,
who thus speaks (in Natali Stephani Martyris, Serm. cccxiv.) : Natalem
Domini hesterno die celebravimus ; servi hodie Natalem celebramus, sed
Natalem Domini celehravimus quo nasci dignatus est, Natalem servi
celebramus quo coronatus est. Celebravimus Natalem Domini quo indu
mentum nostrse carnis accepit ; Natalem servi celebramus quo suae carnis
indumentum abjecit. Natalem Domini celebravimus quo factus est similis
nobis ; celebramus Natalem servi quo factus est proxiraus Christo. Sicut
enim Christus nascendo Stephano, ita Stephan us moriendo conjunctus est
Christo. The reader will appreciate the wisdom of such language.
See also S. Bernard's beautiful words on the relation of the Festivals
Hymns for the season of Epiphany. 241
Richard Hooker, the world, " by looking upon what the
Church does, may in a manner read what she believes""*
Assuredly these glorious truths ought to be displayed to
the eyes and hearts of all Christian Congregations in a Church
Hymn Book ; and ought to be made the subject of public
praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God.
But this connexion between Christ's Incarnation and the
glory of the Saints has hardly found an adequate expression in
our popular Hymnology.
Again; The season of EPIPHANY, which succeeds that of
Advent and Christmas, affords another illustration of what
has been said.
On the Festival of Epiphany, the Church opens that Season
by presenting to her people the circumstances of Christ's
Epiphany or Manifestation to the Gentiles in His infancy at
Bethlehem, in the Collect, Gospel, and First Lesson for the
morning of that day ; and of His Epiphany or Manifestation,
in His Prophetic Office, in His Baptism in the river Jordan,
in the Second Lesson for the Morning of that Festival > and
of His Epiphany or Manifestation in His Godhead> in His
first miracle at Cana of Galilee, in the Second Lesson for the
Evening of the same Festival.
The Church, having thus displayed the lights of Christ's
Epiphany, concentrated, as it were; in one focus on that great
Festival, at the commencement of the Season, proceeds after
of St. Stephen, St. John, and the Holy Innocents, to the great Festival
of Christmas ; De Nativitate SS. Innocentium (torn. iii. p. 1703, ed.
Paris, 1839) : Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini Deus Dominus
et illuxit nobis (Ps. cxviii. 26, 27). Benedictum nomen Ejus quod est
sanctum (Daniel iii. 52). Neque enim otiose venit quod ex Maria natum
est Sanctum, sed copiose diffundit et nomen et gratiam Sanctitatis.
Nimirum inde Stephanus, inde Joannes sanctus, inde sancti etiam Inno-
centes. Utili proinde dispositione triplex ilia solemnitas Natale
Domini comitatur, ut fructus Dominicse Nativitatis exinde nobis evi-
dentius innotescat. Siquidem advertere est in his tribus solemnitatibus
triplicem quandam speciem sanctitatis ; nee facile prater haec tria sanc
torum genera quartum aliquod arbitror in hominibus reperiri. Habemus
in beato Stephano martyrii simul opus et voluntatem. Habemus solam
voluntatem in beato Joanne ; solum in beatis Innocentibus opus. Bibe-
runt omnes hi calicem salutaris.
2 Hooker, V. Ixxi. 11.
VOL. II. R
242 Miscellanies.
wards to disengage them, and to present them severally and
successively to the eyes of her people in the services of the
following Sundays of that Season. Thus she invites and
exhorts them to derive the special benefits supplied by each
manner of Christ's Manifestation, for their growth in grace,
and attainment of glory. And, at length, she leads them on
to the bright vision of Christ' a future great Epiphany, at the
Day of Judgment, when He will again be made manifest,
coming on the clouds of heaven ; and when all men must
appear, or be made manifest,3 before the Judgment-seat of
Christ; and then, "when He shall appear/' they also, who
are His, ' ( will appear with Him in glory," * and " will be
made like Him, for they shall see Him as He is,"5 and He
" will change their vile bodies that they may be made like
unto His glorious body," 6 and they will " be caught up in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so be ever with
the Lord."7
Here, again, the Church of England has wisely followed
the guidance of the ancient Church. She has adopted the
portions of Holy Scripture, which the ancient Church was
accustomed to read during the Season of Epiphany, and she
has given a systematic consistency, and a luminous arrange
ment to this body of Christian Teaching, first, as already
said, by bringing together on the Festival of Epiphany the
three great phases of Christ's Manifestation;8 and then by
distributing those various phases of Epiphany or Manifesta
tion, and by assigning them severally to successive Sundays,
and also by enlarging upon them.
Here likewise, it may be observed, that the Church of
England has added to, and completed, the work of the An
cient Church, by means of that beautiful Collect, " Almighty
G-od, Whose blessed Son was manifested, &c., grant, that
when He shall appear again, we may be made like Him,"
&c. ; which she framed at the last Review of her Liturgy in
3 <pavfpa>dr)vai, 2 Cor. V. 10.
* Col. iii. 4. 5 1 John iii. 2.
6 Phil. iii. 21. 7 1 Thess. iv. 17.
8 Cp. St. Bernard, Serm. ii. in Epiphania, " Tres apparitiones (Epi-
phanias) Domini legimus," &c.
Beaitty of Anglican Services. 243
1 661, for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, and by means
of the Epistle and Gospel which she has appointed for that
Sunday ; by which she recapitulates and sums up the teach
ing of the whole Season, and thus felicitously connects the
purpose of Christ's first Epiphany, which is past, with the
glory of His second Epiphany, which is future, and with our
own Epiphany, at the Great Day of His Coming to judge
the world.
The elaborate spiritual mosaic of the Services of this
Season is an exquisite specimen of liturgical beauty and
symmetry. A Hymn-Book of the Church of England ought
to be fitted to the teaching of the Church on the Festival
itself, and on each successive Sunday of the Season of
Epiphany; and it is by no means sufficient to provide
Hymns of a general character for the Season of Epiphany ;
but each several Sunday should have its distinctive ex
pression of praise and thanksgiving for that particular
mode of manifestation which the Church has associated
with it.
It may be doubted whether these various Epiphanies, and
their practical and doctrinal teaching, have been as yet
duly exhibited in any of our Hymnals.
Still further ; the outpouring of divine grace from heaven
on the whole family of man, summed up in the Second Adam,
Christ Jesus, " God manifest in the flesh," 9 was the subject
which filled the mind of the Church with joy and thankful
ness from the beginning of the Season of Advent to the end
of the Season of Epiphany.
This display of our privileges in Christ produces a con
sciousness of our duty. The outpouring of divine grace is
succeeded by a correlative sense of the need of human
labour working with it. From Advent to Septuagesima
we contemplated God working for us ; and we are next
called upon to see Him working in us, and by us ; and to
consider ourselves as " fellow- workers with God."
This then is the doctrine which the Church sets before her
people in the following Season from SEPTUAGESIMA through
LENT, until EASIER.
9 1 Tim. iii. 16.
R 2
244 Miscellanies.
The Creation, the Fall of Man, the judicial punishments
inflicted by God for sin, in the expulsion of Man from
Paradise, in the Deluge, in the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrha ; the consequent need of faith and godly fear,
godly sorrow, and repentance, watchfulness, self-denial,
obedience, and charity, — these find their places, in due order
and degree, in the Proper Lessons, Collects, Epistles, and
Gospels of this period.
The Forty Days of Lent, symbolizing the time of trial of
man upon earth, and recalling our thoughts to the conflict of
God's first-born, the Man Christ Jesus, in the wilderness,
and to the forms of temptation by which Human Nature in
Him was assailed by Satan, and to the weapons by which
Christ overcame, bring with them their appropriate instruc
tion and encouragement at this time. The history also of
God's first-born, Israel, in the Forty Years' sojourn in the
wilderness, in their way to the promised land ; and the sins,
and failures, and punishments of the people of God in that
pilgrimage, — the figure of our probation in this world, —
contribute their seasonable warnings during this interval.
Finally, the circumstances of Passion Week, which dis
play the consummation of Humanity suffering in Christ,
and perfectly obedient in Him, and glorified by Suffering
and Obedience, complete the teaching of the Church con
cerning the necessity of human labour co-operating with
divine grace.
A reference to the structure and organization of the Ser
vices of the Church will best illustrate these statements ;
and will show with what wisdom the Church of England,
Sunday after Sunday, and week after week, has sought to
inculcate upon her people the divine precepts of Holy Writ,
teaching us by the Apostle Stl Paul that inasmuch as the
Son of God " humbled Himself, and took on Him the form
of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross, and therefore God hath highly exalted Him, and
hath given to Him the Name that is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow/' it follows,
that all who call themselves by His Name, are bound " to
work out their salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
Repetitions and Amplifications. 245
who worketh in us" by reason of our incorporation in Christ,
"both to will and to do of His good pleasure."1 And again
another Apostle declares that since we have " grace and
peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord/'
and since in Him we have " exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these we may be partakers of the divine
nature," thence our duty ensues ; " Add to your faith, virtue,
and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance,
and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and
to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness,
charity .... for so an entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ."2
The Holy Spirit teaches in Holy Scripture by means of
repetitions and amplifications. To produce greater assurance
the same Prophecies are reiterated; the Ten Commandments
are twice inculcated in the Old Testament ; the Sermon on
the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, are presented to us twice in
the New.
The Church pursues a similar method. Epiphany repeats
and amplifies the warnings and encouragement of Advent.
And she has also two seasons3 of Forty Days each : the Sea
son of Lent, and the Season between Easter and Ascension.
Both these periods of Forty Days are seasons of trial and
struggle ending in Victory. The former terminates in the
triumph of Christ, His conquest over Sin, Satan, and the
Grave, at His Resurrection. Then follows another period
of Forty Days, which inculcates afresh the Lessons of Lent
with new warnings, encouragements, and assurances. Resur
rection at Easter has its spiritual correlative in the Sacrament
of Baptism. The Red Sea is passed, the Pilgrimage through
the wilderness begins, with all its spiritual privileges, and its
solemn judgments. These are presented to the eyes of the
faithful in the services of the Church during that period,4
1 Phil. ii. 6—14 3 2 Pet. i. 2—11.
3 The period of Forty Days often recurs in Holy Scripture as a period
symbolical of conflict terminating in peace and joy. See S. Augustine,
Serin, de Ascensione, cclxiv.
4 See below Hymns li. and Hi., and the remarks prefixed to them.
246 Miscellanies.
which issues in the triumphant joys of the ASCENSION, which
conducts to a loftier eminence than that of Easter, and is
followed by the gift of the Holy Ghost at PENTECOST, and
by the Vision of heavenly glory in the crowning Festival of
TRINITY SUNDAY.
Thus the Church leads us up, as it were, from one moun
tain-ridge of spiritual elevation to another ; till at length she
lands us on the culminating eminence of heavenly glory,
before the Throne of the Triune God, in that festival.
An examination of our liturgical services will show the
justness of these observations. A minute analysis of them
would be requisite to exhibit their truth in all its details.
Suffice it to say, in the words of the late Poet Laureate/
that, as we pass on,
" The way before us lies
Distinct with signs, through which in set career,
As through a zodiac, moves the ritual Year
Of England's Church."
The Year is truly said by him to be " distinct with signs,"'
and, as St. Paul reminds us, it is a characteristic of music to
preserve distinctness of expression.6 A Church Hymn-Book
ought to endeavour, if we may so speak, to represent clearly
and definitely each of the constellations of this spiritual
Zodiac, in its true form and character, and to endeavour to
give a harmonious voice to each of those spiritual constella
tions ; so that, as at the Creation " the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," 7 there
may be a succession of sacred melodies sounding in the ears
of faith, like the music of the spheres, throughout the whole
course of the Christian Year, and the words of the Psalmist
may be verified, " one day telleth another, and one night
certifieth another ; there is neither speech nor language, but
their voices are heard among them ; their sound is gone
out into all lands, and their words into the ends of tlie
world." "
6 Wordsworth's Eccles. Sonnets, Pt. iii. Son. xv.
6 1 Cor. xiv. 7. 7 Job xxxviii. 7. 8 Ps. xix. 2—4.
Hymns for Saints' Days. 247
Let us pass to another point.
A great part of the didactic work of the Church consists of
that best kind of instruction — teaching by examples.
This teaching is conveyed by means of the Collects and
portions of Scripture appointed to be used upon her HOLY-
DAYS, on which she praises God for the grace bestowed by
Him upon the Saints, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs, —
and through them upon the whole Church.
Here, a-lso, her wisdom is shown in endeavouring to
instruct her people by appropriate lessons of edification.
Little spiritual good is gained from vague genei'alities ; and
almost every character of every great Saint who is presented
to us in Scripture, and is commemorated by the Church,
communicates some special warning, admonition, or en
couragement. Every SAINT'S DAY has its own moral. The
Church has endeavoured to lay hold upon this, and to present
it to her people. A Hymn-Book of the Church ought to
conform itself to the mind of the Church, and to follow her
example in this respect. A Church Hymu-Book ought not
to be content with supplying general Hymns on Martyrs, and
general Hymns on Apostles and Evangelists. These are like
general exordiums of speeches, not appropriate to any. But
something more is requisite in a Church Hymn-Book. The
peculiar teaching which each Festival supplies, and the
special expression of thankfulness which each Festival
prompts, ought to find a responsive echo in the Hymn for
each of the Festivals of the Christian Year.
Here, also, another desideratum may be noted in our
popular Hymnology, and it is much to be wished that this
desideratum may be supplied.
The materials for English Church Hymns are to be
found first in the Holy Scriptures ; secondly, in the writings
of Christian Antiquity; thirdly, in the Book of Common
Prayer.
The works of the early Christian Fathers supply many
thoughts, images, and expressions ; and it will be well for a
Hymn-writer to ascertain how the same subject has been
treated in the Poetry of the Ancient Church. With this
view he mav consult such books as Clichtovei Elucidarium,
248 Miscellanies.
Paris, 1556 ; Daniel's Thesaurus Hymuologicus, five volumes,
8vo. Lipsiae, 1841-55. Some useful information on ancient
Hymnology may be found in Gavanti, Thesaurus Rituum,
torn. ii. sect. v. cap. vi. pp. Ill — 117.
The corruptions of the Church in doctrine showed them
selves in a degenerate Hymnology. Some Hymns of great
beauty were still produced in the twelfth century, especially
by S. Bernard, and by Adam of S. Victor.9 But on the
whole, how great is the decline, both in style and matter,1
in the sacred poetry of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
from that of the fourth and the fifth, — the poetry of S.
Ambrose, S. Hilary, and Prudentius !
One of the most striking differences between ancient and
modern Hymns is this, — that the former are always objective,
the latter are very often subjective. The former are dis
tinguished by self-forgetfulness, the latter by self-conscious
ness. In the Ancient Hymns man is elevated to God ; in
the Modern, God is too often depressed to man. In the
former, the soul of the worshipper blends itself with the
souls of all other worshippers throughout the whole of
Christendom in every age, and is absorbed in contemplation
of God, and rises in harmonious concert and in a glorious
unison of adoration and praise to " the God of the spirits of
all flesh,"— the Father of all, the Redeemer of all, the
Sanctifier of all. In modern hymns, the individual too often
detaches and isolates himself from the body of the faithful ;
and in a morbid spirit of sentimental selfishness obtrudes
his own feelings concerning himself ; and claiming a
monopoly of spiritual privileges for himself, makes it to be
9 Which may be seen in the work of Clichtoveus already quoted, and
in the Thesaurus Hymnologicus of Daniel. Some of the choicest speci
mens of them, illustrated by an excellent commentary, will be found in
Archbishop Trench's Sacred Latin Poetry, London, 1849.
1 This is illustrated in a striking manner by Mone's Collection of
Mediseval Hymns, Friburg, 1853, in three volumes, of which only a
part of the first volume contains Hymns to God ; and all the rest of the
work consists of Hymns to Angels and Saints. The Hymns to the
Blessed Virgin fill an entire volume ; and even in the small portion which
are entitled " ad Deum," many are invocations of the Cross, or of the
crown of thorns, face, and wounds of Christ. See vol. i. pp. 138 — 181.
Ancient and Modern Hymns — Paris Breviary. 249
the theme of praise to God the Father of all, that He has
had mercy on him, and to Christ the Saviour of the World,
that He has died for him ; and he comes forward to speak to
God concerning his own personal, private, spiritual state,
with an individual assurance of self-congratulation, which
sometimes seems to be not far removed from that of the
Pharisee in the Gospel ; and he does this in public worship,
in the house of God, and makes his own individuality to be
the axis around which all the congregation, and even the
heavenly sphere itself, is to be made to revolve !
An exception may be made in favour of expressions of
individual penitential self-abasement (such a$ " Have mercy
upon me, 0 God, after Thy great goodness; wash me
throughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my
sin ") , which are very different from utterances qf personal
self-glorification.
In media3va| times the sacred Poetry of the Church
declined in Catholicity, and tended more and more towards
individualism. Some traces of this tendency may be seen
in certain Hymns of S. Bernard, and in one or two stanzas
of the celebrated Christian poem " Dies irae, Dies ilia," :
which is probably not more ancient than the fifteenth
century. And it is interesting and instructive to observe,
how the idiosyncrasies of Medievalism, as distinguished
from Catholicism, in this and in many other respects,
anticipated the peculiar characteristics of Methodism.
Much has been successfully done, in the present genera
tion, for the adaptation of Ancient Hymns to the use of the
present Church. But it is a remarkable fact that very many
Hymns which have been considered by many to be ancient
are not much more than a century old, and are derived from
the most degenerate age of the Church !
Such are very many Hymns of the Parisian Breviary,
2 Daniel, ii. 103, v. p. 110. See especially the stanzas,
" Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae vise,
Ne me perdas ilia die.
Quserens me venisti lassus,
lledemisti crucem passus,
Tantus labor ne sit cassus."
250 Miscellanies.
which have been translated into English. That Breviary-
was put forth by the Archbishop of Paris, Charles Gaspar
Guillaume de Vintimille, in 1 735 ; and Charles Coffin,
Rector of the University of Paris, and Jean Baptiste de
Santeul and his brother were employed to compose Hymns
for it. This they did in imitation of the classical style and
metres of Horace. All the nine hymns of the weekly office
of the Parisian Breviary are from the pen of Charles Coffin. f
It was well said of that Breviary, as to its Hymns, " Ac-
cessit Latinitas, recessit pietas." :
May I here venture to put in a plea for the emancipation
of Hymnology from its present straitened limits of three or
four verses and a doxology ? Comparatively little spiritual
good can be effected by such a slender pittance as that. The
office of Public Worship is not only to promote God's glory
by prayer and praise, but also to act thereby upon the mind,
heart, and life of the worshipper. To give greater freedom,
expansion, and elasticity to Hymnology, would be a happy
return to primitive usage ; and it would minister fresh life
to Christian faith and Christian practice. The use of
Hymns, referring to the Collect, Epistle, or Gospel of the
week, or to the Lessons of the day, might give a quickening
impulse to devotion, and a practical direction to it, even
more effectually than can be done by a lecture or a homily.
A hymn sung by the people sinks more deeply into their
memory than what they hear from the pulpit. And what
ever may be the case in public devotion, yet at least for
domestic and private worship a Hymn which carries the
reader on with a flow of thought, and by a suggestion of
holy recollections of the past, and of hopeful aspirations for
the future, and nourishes the soul with solid and substantial
food of sound and wholesome doctrine, is likely to be more
edifying, than if it is cramped in the Procrustean bed to
which Hymnology is now usually confined.
A few words may be here said upon the METRES of sacred
Hymnology.
Here also we have something to learn, and something to
lay aside.
3 See Pascal, J. B. E., Liturgic Catholique, p. 663.
Metres of Hymns. 2 5 1
For example, it was an ancient rhythmical principle, that
the Tetrameter Trochaic of fifteen syllables should be
specially employed on occasions where there is a sudden
burst of feeling, after a patient waiting, or a continuous
struggle. This Metre never finds its place at the beginning,
but is reserved for a later period in the Drama, both Tragic
and Comic, of the ancient Stage.4 The long rapid sweep of
this noble Metre, and the jubilant movement of the verse,
render it very suitable for use on the great Festivals of the
Christian Year, such as Easter and Ascension, when, after
severe trial, or quiet endurance, the Church is suddenly
cheered by a glorious vision, which gladdens her heart, and
evokes a song of rapture from her lips.
But it may well admit of a doubt, whether this trochaic
measure is appropriate at such solemn seasons as that of
Advent, when the Church is meditating on the awful
transactions of the Day of Judgment. And yet the Hymn
on the Second Advent, which is most familiar to English
ears, is composed in a tetrameter trochaic broken into two
parts, and rendered more joyful by double rhymes, —
" Lo ! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favour'd sinners slain."
The mention of this Hymn may introduce the remark that
the magnificent ancient tetrameter trochaic of fifteen
syllables, to which reference has just been made, has now
unfortunately, but almost universally, been broken into two
parts, the former consisting of eight, the latter of seven
syllables, — has been a serious evil to Hymnology. Let any
one read a tetrameter trochaic of ^Eschylus, or of the
Christian Poet Prudentius,5 or of the glorious ancient
4 Cp. Bentley's excellent remarks, in the Preface to his edition of
Terence, p. v. " Illud admonendum, ut a Trimetris (iambis) suas fabulas
nostrum inchoasse, ita semper Tetrametris (trochaicis) finiisse."
* E. ff. his beautiful Cathemerinon ix., —
" Da puer plectrum, choreis ut canam fidelibus
Dulce carmen et melodum, gesta Christi insignia :
Hunc camena nostra solum pangat, Hunc laudet lyra."
Thus the Hymn is very properly printed by Dressel in his recent edition
of Prudentius, p. 53, ed. Lips. 1860. In some former editions of
Prudentius each line is dismembered, for the convenience of printing.
252 Miscellanies.
hymn " Pange, lingua " 6 (imitated by Aquinas), first as the
Authors wrote them, in lines of fifteen syllables, and then
let him break up each line into two parts, and he will
immediately perceive how much he has lost both in sound
and sense by this prqcess of disruption. The majestic flow
of the line which bore the reader onward, as on a smooth
and rapid current, is suddenly checked, as by a reef or bar
thrown across it.
I have made an attempt to do something for the applica
tion of the principles now stated by writing and publishing
a series of Hymns in a Yolume entitled " THE HOLY YEAR."
How far this endeavour may have been successful must
be left, for others to judge. I cannot however conclude
these remarks without bearing testimony to the great
improvement that has been made in the composition of
Hymns for public use in the Church of England during the
last forty years : an improvement which justifies the hope
that the English Church may ere long possess a Hymn-Book
worthy in all respects to take its place by the side of the
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
The following Hymns, written (as I have said) in accordance
with the foregoing observations, form " THE HOLY YEAR."
Many of them have been transferred from it into popular
collections. A Musical Edition of them with Tunes for the
Hymns, has been published under the superintendence of
Mr. W. H. MONK (Bivingtons).
8 " Pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium certaminis,
Et super crucis trophseo die triumphum nobilem."
See Clichtoveus, p. 30, where it is printed in double columns, and conse
quently broken up ; but Daniel (Thes. Hymnol. i. p. 163) has judiciously
restored it to its ancient tetrameter form.
TABLE OF HYMNS IN THE HOLY YEAR.
The numbers' in this Calendar indicate the numbers of the Hymns.
The Hymns proper for the SUNDAYS and HOLT DAYS of the Christian
Year are arranged in this volume in the order of the Book of Common
Prayer, and may be found according to that order.
By the Emission of some verses, Hymns for certain days may be made
more generally available, e.g. Hymn 92 for St. Paul's Day may be made
suitable for many days' by omitting the first verse. Hymn 16 (omitting
v. 1) may be used on Birthdays, &c.
The Hymns for Special Occasions adre as follows :—
Holy Baptism, Hymn 110.
Confirmation, 111, 128, 129.
Holy Communion, 112, 115.
Holy Matrimony, 113.
Visitation of the Sick, 114.
Communion of the Sick, 115.
Burial of the Dead, 116, 123.
Churching of Women after Childbirth, 117.
Commination, 118.
Prayers at Sea, 119.
For Ember Weeks, and Ordination of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, 120.
The Queen's Accession (June 20), 121.
Consecration of Churches, or Laying the First Stone of a Church, 122.
Consecration of a Churchyard, 123.
Missions to the Heathen, 124.
Schools, 125.
Charitable Collections, 126.
Thanksgiving for Harvest, 127.
For Unity, 130.
For Temperance Societies^ 131.
HYMNS FOE
Sunday, 1, 3, 56, 62, 68, 111.
Friday, 31, 45, 46 vv. 1, 2, 9— 12, 56.
Saturday, 2, 46 v. 3, 116 Pt. ii., 123 Pt. ii.
Thanksgiving Days, 126.
Birthdays, 16 (omitting v, 1).
For other occasions (e. g. Baptism, Marriage, Burial, &c.) see above.
254 Miscellanies.
HYMNS FOR SUNDAYS, HOLYDAYS, AND
DAILY USE.
•nor
Morning . . . ' . " . . )'. . . . .1
Evening ............ 2
Sunday . . . . . . . T* . . . . .3
The first Advent ... * -.' . ... .4
The second Advent .......... 5
First and second Advent compared ... . • . . . .6
Second Sunday in Advent ........ 7
Third Sunday in Advent . . . .... . .8
Fourth Sunday in Advent 9
Christmas Day, December 25 . . . •. . . .10
St. Stephen's Day, Dec. 26 11
St. John the Evangelist's Day, Dec. 27 . . '- . . ' , . .12
The Innocents' Day, Dec. 28 . . . . . .13
Sunday after Christmas 14
The Circumcision of Christ, Jan. 1 . . . . . . .15
New Year's Day, Jan. 1 . .... 16
The Epiphany, Jan. 6 . 17
The Baptism of Christ 18
First Sunday after the Epiphany ....... 19
Second Sunday after the Epiphany 20
Third Sunday after the Epiphany . . . . . .21
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany .22
The same subject continued . . . . . . .23
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany . . ... . .24
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany . .... . . .25
Another for the same season ........ 26
Septuagesima . . . . . . . . . . .27
Sexagesima 28
Sexagesima and Quinquagesima 29
Quinquagesima . . .30
Ash- Wednesday 31
First Sunday in Lent . 32
Another for the same Sunday 33
Second Sunday in Lent . . .34
Third Sunday in Lent 35
Fourth Sunday in Lent 36
Fifth Sunday in Lent 37
Sunday next before Easter 38
Another for the same 39
Another 40
Monday before Easter . . . 41
Tuesday before Easter 42
Wednesday before Easter 43
Thursday before Easter 44
Good Friday 45
Easter Even 46
Easter Day 47
Easter 48
77/6' Holy Year. 255
Monday in Easter Week .49
Tuesday in Easter Week 50
First Sunday after Easter 51
Second Sunday after Easter ........ 52
Third Sunday after Easter . . 53
Fourth Sunday after Easter 54
Fifth Sunday after Easter 55
Rogation Days .......... 56
Ascension Day .......... 57
Sunday after Ascension Day 58
Whitsunday . 59
Monday in Whitsun Week . . . . . .60
Tuesday in Whitsun Week ........ 61
Trinity Sunday . . 62
First Sunday after Trinity . . . . . . . .63
Second Sunday after Trinity 64
Third Sunday after Trinity ....:... 65
Fourth Sunday after Trinity .....'... 66
Fifth Sunday after Trinity" 67
Sixth Sunday after Trinitv . . . . .' . . .68
Seventh Sunday after Trinity . . . . '.'.'. . . 69
Eighth Sunday after Trinity , .70
Another for the same Sunday . . . ..''-. . .71
Ninth Sunday after Trinity ........ 72
Tenth Sunday after Trinity . . . . - . . . .73
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 74
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity . . . ... . . .75
Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity 76
Another for the same Sunday ........ 77
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity ' . 78
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity 79
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity . . . . . .80
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity 81
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity ....... 82
Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity .83
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity . . . ... . .84
Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity ...'.... 85
Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity ...... 86
Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity ....... 87
Twenty -fourth Sunday after Trinity ...... 88
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity, Part I. Another for the Sunday
before Advent, Part II 89
St. Andrew's Day, Nov. 30 90
St. Thomas the Apostle, Dec. 21 91
The Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25 92
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Feb. 2 .... 93
St. Matthias' Day, Feb. 24 . . 94
The Annunciation, March 25 . . . . . . . .95
St. Mark's Day, April 25 96
St. Philip and St. James' Day, May L . . . . . .97
St. Barnabas the Apostle, June 11 98
St. John Baptist's Day, June 24 99
St. Peter's Day, June 29 100
Another for the same Festival 101
St. James the Apostle, July 25 102
256 Miscellanies.
HYMN
St. Bartholomew the Apostle, Aug. 24 103
St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, Sept. 21 . . . . 104
St. Michael and all Angels, Sept 29 105
St. Luke the Evangelist, Oct. 18 106
Another for the same Festival. On the Acts of the Apostles . . 107
St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles, Oct. 28 108
All Saints' Day, Nov. 1 109
Holy Baptism . . . . r . .' r ' .' . . . 110
Confirmation . . ... . Jf . . 111,128,129
Holy Communion . . . . fy . . . 112
Holy Matrimony „ ; . . . . 113
Visitation of the Sick "... . 114
Communion of the Sick ......... 115
Burial of the Dead 116
Churching of Women after Childbirth . . -. . ... 117
Commination ........... 118
Prayers at Sea 119
For Ember Weeks, and Ordinations of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons 120
The Queen's Accession, June 20 121
Consecration of Churches, or Laying the First Stone of a Church . 122
Consecration of a Churchyard 123
Missions to the Heathen 124
Schools 125
Charitable Collections 126
Thanksgiving for Harvest ........ 127
Confirmation .......... Ill, 128
Confirmation (after laying on x»f hands) . . . . . 129
For Unity 130
For Temperance and Temperance Societies . \ . . . 131
1. MORNING.
1 SON of God, Eternal WORD,
Glorious Dayspring, CHBIST the Lord,
Shine upon us with Thy rays,
While we celebrate Thy praise.
2 When Thou madest heaven and earth,
Angels shouted at their birth ;
Morning stars in chorus sang,
When the World from Darkness sprang,
3 When in sin and death we lay,
Thou didst wake us into Day ;
Thou in human nature born
Art to us a glorious Morn.
4 When Thou didst arise from Death,
We were quicken'd by Thy breath ;
We arose with Thee our Head
First-begotten from the dead.
5 Look on all with pitying eye
Who in heathen darkness lie ;
Scatter, Lord, their shades of Night,
Dawn upon them with Thy Light.
6 Send to us the Holy Ghost,
Give the Light of Pentecost ;
That we may for ever bless
Thee the Sun of Righteousness.
7 Keep us safe from harm and sin,
Foes around us, and within ;
May we know Thee ever nigh,
Ever walk as in Thine eye.
8 Lead us onward, Lord, we pray,
To the pure and perfect Day,
Where we may the Glory see
Of the blessed Trinity.
9 Glory to the Father be,
Glory, Light of Light, to Thee ;
With the Father and the Son
Praise the Spirit, Three in One. AMEN.
VOL. II.
258 Miscellanies.
2. EVENING.
1 THE Day is gently sinking to a close,
Fainter and yet more faint the sunlight glows ;
O Brightness of Thy Father's Glory Thou
Eternal LIGHT of LIGHT, be with us now ;
Where Thou art present Darkness cannot be,
Midnight is glorious Noon, 0 Lord, with Thee.
2 Our changeful lives are ebbing to an end,
Onward to darkness and to death we tend :
0 Conqueror of the Grave, be Thou our Guide,
Be Thou our Light, in Death's dark Eventide ;
Then in our mortal hour will be no gloom,
No sting in Death, no terror in the Tomb.
3 Thou, Who in Darkness walking didst appear
Upon the waves, and Thy Disciples cheer,
Come, Lord, in lonesome days, when storms assail,
And earthly hopes and human succours fail ;
When all is dark, may we behold Thee nigh,
And hear Thy Voice, " Fear not, for it is I."
4 The weary World is mouldering to decay,
Its glories wane, its pageants fade away ;
In that last Sunset,when the stars shall fall,
May we arise awaken'd by Thy call,
With Thee, 0 LOBD, for ever to abide
In that blest Day which has no Eventide ! AMEN.
3. SUNDAY*
" This is the Day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be
glad in it." — Ps. cxviii. 24.
1 0 DAY of rest and gladness,
0 Day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright ;
On thee, the high and lowly,
Through ages join'd in tune,
Sing, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY,
To the great GOD TBIUNE.
2 On thee at the Creation
The Light first had its birth ;
On thee for our salvation
Christ rose from depths of earth ;
On thee our Lord victorious
The SPIBIT sent from Heaven ;
And thus on thee most glorious
A triple Light was given.
3 Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise ;
A garden intersected
With streams of Paradise ;
1 The Hymn to the Blessed Trinity, below, No. 62, may also be used
on any Sunday in the year.
Sunday — A dvent. 259
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life's dry dreary sand ;
From Thee, like Pisgah's mountain,
We view our Promised Land.
4 Thou art a holy ladder,
Where Angels go and come ;
Each Sunday finds us gladder,
Nearer to Heaven, our home ;
A day of sweet refection,
A day thou art of love ;
A day of Resurrection
From earth to things above.
5 To-day on weary nations
The heavenly Manna falls ;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where Gospel-light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams ;
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
6 New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the Eest remaining
To spirits of the blest :
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son ;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, Blest THEEE in ONE. AMEN.
4. ADVENT.
The FIBST ADVENT of Christ, coming to save.
1 Lo He comes ! Whom every Nation^
Taught of God, desired to see,
Fill'd with hope and expectation
That He would their Saviour be.
Sing, 0 sing with exultation,
Lo ! He calls us to our home ;
Peace, redemption, joy, salvation,
Now from Heaven to earth are come.
2 See He comes ! Whom kings and sages,
Prophets, Patriarchs of old,
Distant climes, and countless ages,
Waited eager to behold.
Sing, O sing with exultation,
Haste we to our Father's home ;
Peace, redemption, joy, salvation,
Now from Heaven to earth are come.
3 See the Lamb of God appearing,
GOD of GOD, from Heaven above ;
See the Heavenly Bridegroom cheering
His dear Bride with words of love !
s 2
2 6o Miscellanies .
Glory to the Eternal Father,
Glory to the Incarnate Son,
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Glory to the Three in One ! AMEN.
5. The SECOND ADVENT of Christ, coming to judge.
1 THE Day is come, the solemn Day of Doom ;
The Judge appears upon a shining cloud ;
And all Mankind are waken'd from the tomb
By the Archangel's trumpet, clear and loud ;
The Dead come forth ; and all, both small and great,
Are summon'd to God's awful judgment-seat.
2 Ten thousand Angels are around their Lord,
Forth issues from His throne a fiery flood ;
And with the mighty mandate of His word
He separates the wicked from the good ;
These on the right, those on the other hand,
Waiting their everlasting sentence stand.
3 " Hide us, ye Hills, ye Mountains on us fall ! "
With fear and piercing shrieks the guilty cry,
And to the caves and rocks for succour call,
" Hide us, 0 hide us from His searching eye,
" 0 save us from the fury of His ire,
" From the undying Worm and Lake of Fire ! "
4 But 0 what joys the Saints of God await !
Bliss unalloy'd, and sunshine without night ;
Christ opens wide to them His Palace-gate,
And bids them drink of pleasures infinite ;
God wipes all tears for ever from their eyes,
And gives to them the Life that never dies.
5 Thou Christ Who cam'st from Heaven our wounds to cure,
And all the works of Satan to destroy,
0 purify us, Lord, as Thou art pure,
That we may come to that unsullied joy,
And fashion'd in Thy glorious image be,
And, by Thy Grace Divine, be like to Thee ! AMEN.
6. The FIBST and SECOND ADVENTS compared. See the Gospel
for Advent Sunday.
1 DATJGHTEE of Zion, shout with joy,
Thy King and Saviour see !
Meek, riding on an ass, a foal,
He comes ! He comes to Thee !
In the Lord's Name He comes ! Hosannas sing,
Daughter of Zion, shout ! Behold thy King !
2 The foal, untamed as yet, was tied ;
But the Apostles say
" The Lord hath need of him ;" they loose,
Their garments on him lay ;
Palms strew the road, the Lord on him will ride
To Zion's gate, the mother at his side.
Season of Advent. 261
3 So, Lord, the Heathen World untamed
Was bound by chains of sin,
But loosed by Apostolic hands
To Zion enters in :
O loose us, guide and govern us, that we
In Thy J erusalem may ever be !
4 Thou, Lord, Who once didst meekly ride
Upon the foal, art He
Who rides upon the Heavens, the clouds
Are chariots unto Thee ;
Thou on the wings of mighty winds dost fly,
The Cherubim bear up Thy majesty.
5 "I saw Heaven open'd,2 I beheld
One on a White Horse ride,
Follow'd by Armies out of Heaven
In white robes glorified ;
His eyes like fire, their rays like flaming swords,
His name is KING of KINGS, and LOBD of LOBDS ! "
6 Such at Thy Second Coming Thou
Wilt be, at that great Day ;
0 help us by Thy Spirit now
111 works to cast away,
To walk in Love, as Children of the Light,
And follow Thee in garments pure and white. AMEN.
7. SECOND S UNDA Y IN AD VENT.
Christ's continual Coming in HOLY SCBIPTUBE. See the Collect
and Epistle of the Week. (See above, pp. 237—239.)
1 LOBD, Who didst the Prophets teach
To prepare Thy way of old ;
And by Thine Apostles preach
Truths of wisdom manifold ;
2 Teach us to behold Thee, Lord,
Present in the sacred page,
Living WOBD in Written Word ;
Coming thus to every age ;
3 Seen reveal'd in Moses* lore
Of Creation, Patriarch's life,
Red Sea pass'd, and Canaan's shore
Reach'd by patient, faithful strife.
4 Coming in King David's Psalms,
In Isaiah's trumpet-call,
Coming in St. John's deep calms,
And as lightning, in St. Paul.
5 Coming brightly from afar
To the lands with darkness dim,
On the Evangelic ear
Of Thy fourfold Cherubim.3
2 Rev. xix. 11.
3 Symbolizing the Four Gospels : see Rev. iv. 6—8.
262 Miscellanies.
6 Thus, O blessed Lord, when we
On Thy HOLY SCEIPTTTEES look,
May we ever worship Thee,
Coming in Thy sacred Book.
7 So, when as a scroll is past
Heaven, and Earth with all its strife,
May we see our names at last
Written in Thy Book of Life !
8 Praise the Father, all that live,
Praise ye, praise ye, God the Son ;
Glory to the Spirit give,
Glory to the Three in One. AMEN.
8. THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT*
Christ always coming in the Ministry of His Church; see the Collect,
. Epistle, and Gospel of the Week.
1 " REPENT, repent," the Baptist cries,
Behold ! at hand is He
Who with the Spirit will baptize —
The Incarnate Deity !
I am the Voice, He the Eternal WOED :
I but a servant, He the Almighty LOKD.
2 As Thou Thy Messenger didst send,
O Lord, before Thy face,
So send'st Thou ever, till the end,
Thy Ministers of Grace :
Thou comest in them ; all they have is Thine;
They are but channels, Thou the Source Divine.
3 0 blessed Saviour, may we learn
Thee in Thy Church to see,
Thee in Thy Pastors to discern,
And in them honour Thee ;
Thou at the Font and Altar, Lord, dost stand,
Tending, unseen, Thy people with Thy Hand.
4 0 may Thy Shepherds faithful be,
And feed with wholesome food
Thy own dear Flock, redeem'd by Thee
With Thy most precious Blood ;
So at Thy Second Coming we and they
May in Thy heavenly Fold be safe alway ! AMEN.
9. FO URTH SUNDA T IN AD VENT.
Christ ever coming to us in danger and distress ; see the Collect for the
Week.
1 THE Galilean Fishers toil
All night, and nothing take ;
But Jesus comes, — a wondrous spoil
Js lifted from the lake ;
4 The Hymn below for St. John the Baptist's Day, No. 99, may also
be used on this day.
Christmas Day. 263
2 Lord, when our labours are in vain,
And vain the help of men,
When fruitless is our care and pain,
Come, blessed Jesu, then !
3 The night is dark, the surges fill
The ship, the wild winds roar ;
But Jesus conies ; and all is still, —
The ship is at the shore ;
4 0 Lord, when storms around us howl,
And all is dark and drear,
In all the tempests of the soul,
O blessed Jesu, hear.
5 A frail one,5 thrice denying Thee,
Saw mercy in Thine eyes ;
The penitent upon the tree6
Was borne to Paradise ;
6 In hours of sin and deep distress
O show us, Lord, Thy face ;
In penitential loneliness,
0 give us, Jesu, grace !
7 The faithful few retire in fear
To their closed upper-room ;
But suddenly their Lord is near ;
They see their Master come ;
8 Lord, come to us, unloose our bands,
And bid our terrors cease,
Lift over us Thy blessed Hands,
Speak, holy Jesu, Peace !
9 In days when Faith will scarce be found,
And wolves be in the fold,
When sin and sorrow will abound,
And charity wax cold,
10 Then hear Thy Saints, who to Thee pray
To bring them to their home ;
Hear when the Bride and Spirit say,
" Come, blessed Jesu, come ! " AMEN.
10. CHRISTMAS DAT, DEC. 25.
1 SING, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given,
God Himself comes down from Heaven ;
Sing, O sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
2 Jesus Christ, the King of kings,
Maker of all worldly things,
St. Peter.
The penitent thief upon the cross. Luke xxiii. 43.
264 Miscellanies.
Now descends from Heaven to Earth,
To restore us by His Birth ;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
3 God of God, and Light of Light,
Comes with mercies infinite ;
Joining in a wondrous plan
Heaven to Earth, and God to Man ;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
4 God with us, EMMANUEL,
Deigns for ever now to dwell ;
And on Adam's fallen race
Sheds the fulness of His Grace;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
5 Truth and mercy show their face,
And with loving kiss embrace ;
Righteousness looks down from Heaven,
God is pleas'd, and Man forgiven ;
Sing, O sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
6 God comes down that man may rise
Rais'd by Him above the skies ;
Christ is Son of Man that we
Sons of God in Him may be ;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
7 Human flesh has now become
Christ's abode, the Godhead's home ;
Royal Palace, sacred shrine
Of the Majesty Divine;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
8 Now we rise from prison free ;
Now we march to victory,
Joyful banners are unfurl'd,
'Tis the Birthday of the World ;
Sing, O sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
9 Now the newly risen Sun
Hath His glorious race begun ;
Now the Bridegroom from above
Weds the Bride with heavenly love ;
Sing, O sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
10 O renew us, Lord, we pray,
With Thy Spirit day by day ;
That we ever one may be
With the Father, and with Thee ;
Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born.
Saints Days after Christ s Birth. 265
11 Sing, 0 sing this blessed Morn,
Jesus Christ to-day is born ;
Glory to the Father give,
Praise the Son in Whom we live ;
Glory to the Spirit be,
Godhead One, and Persons Three. AMEN.
11. ST. STEPHEN'S DAY, DEC. 207
1 To all the Saints of God on earth
Their death-day is their day of birth :
Death is their Door of Life, the Sacred Way
By which they pass to realms of endless day.
2 And whence do all the Saints derive
The birth by which through death they live ?
From God made Flesh ; on Him their virtues grow,
He is the source from which their graces flow.
3 We sang to God on yestermorn,
When Jesus. Christ for us was born ;
And from His Birth the Saints their Birthdays date ;
And in the Saints their Lord we celebrate.
4 To-day the first of Martyrs dies,
And dying enters Paradise ;
While foes around him rage, what gleams of grace
Angelic shine on his transfigured face !
5 While storms of stones around him fly,
His soul is anchor'd in the sky ;
" I see Heaven open'd, and at God's Right Hand
The Son of Man," he cries, " in glory stand."
6 " Jesu, receive my soul," he says,
Kneels down, and then more loudly prays,
" Do not this sin in Thy remembrance keep " —
And when he thus had said, he fell asleep.
7 Lord, when we suffer here for Thee,
Grant us Thy glorious Face to see,
And on the Spirit's wings of Faith and Love
Lift us from Earth to Light and Life above.
8 Glory to God the Father give,
And to the Son in Whom we live ;
Glory to God the Holy Spirit be,
One everlasting God, and Persons Three. AMEN.
12. -821 JOHN THE EVANGELIST'S DAT, DEC. 27.
1 THE night is dark, the winds are high,
The billows loudly roar,
And beat upon the lofty cliffs
Of Patmos' sea-girt shore,
Where dwells a Prisoner for the Truth of Christ,
Aged, alone, the loved Evangelist.
7 H3rmns 109 and 123 may be also used on this day and on the two
following days. On the connexion of these days with Christmas, see p. 240.
266 Miscellanies.
2 Dark clouds of Error hover round
The Church ; and fierce the shock
Of Persecution which assails
The everlasting Rock :
The Apostle waits in calmness and with ruth,
A living Martyr to Eternal Truth.
3 0 blessed Saviour, Thou didst then
Thy loved Disciple cheer
With radiant visions, Thou to him
In glory didst appear,
Clothed in majestic power; and at Thy side,
Pure from all earthly taint, the Church Thy Bride.
4 Thou, on Whose bosom he reclined
At Thy first Eucharist,
Didst feed with wisdom from above
The loved Evangelist ;
Then, after waiting long, didst give him rest,
Making him sleep in peace upon Thy breast.
5 0 make us loyal to Thyself
In days of sin and strife ;
Teach us to bear in patient love
The martyrdom of life ;
So may we, Lord, in heavenly glory see
A pure and bright Apocalypse of Thee ! AMEN.
13. THE INNOCENTS' DAY, DEC. 28.
1 HOLY Jesus, Mighty Lord,
Light of Light, Incarnate WOBD,
Who didst take our fleshly dress
In an Infant's helplessness,
And didst pass to Manhood's stage,
Consecrating every age ;
Showers of graces from Thee fall ;
Be Thou worshipp'd, Lord, by all.
2 Planets, as their race they run,
Drink their radiance from the Sun ;
Saints receive their holiness
From the Sun of Righteousness ;
He lit up Saint Stephen's face,
Crown'd Saint John's old age with grace,
Gilded life's first lineaments
In the Holy Innocents.
3 At Thy Birth, Incarnate Lord,
They were slain by Herod's sword ;
But the babes who for Thee died
By Thy Birth were glorified ;
Thou, an Infant born, didst give
Life by which they dying live ;
Thou didst love them as Thine own,
Thou didst set them near Thy Throne.
4 Some, like Stephen, for Thee bleed,
Martyrs both in will and deed ;
Christmas — Circiimcision. 267
Some, like John , Thy law fulfil
By the Martyrdom of Will ;
Others yield their life-blood's price
An unconscious sacrifice ;
Thou, the Fountain of all lights,
Shinest in all Thy satellites.
5 Thou, Who givest Infants breath,
And dost beautify by death,
Thou hast woven in Thy crown
These sweet flowers of Spring unblown ;
Mortify in us and kill
Whatsoe'er resists Thy will ;
Make us, Blessed Lord, to be
Infants in simplicity. AMEN.
14, SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.
Christ our Example.
1 " GLOEY be to God on high.
Love to man, and peace on earth,"
Was the hymn which Angels sang,
Blessed Saviour, at Thy Birth.
2 Thou, 0 Lord, our Teacher art,
Lying in Thy cradle low,
Preaching there to all the World
What for all is best to know.
3 God has sent His only Son
From the highest realms above ;
May we therefore live by faith
In our Heavenly Father's love.
4 God's own Son Who made the world
Deign'd a little Child to be ;
May we cast away all Pride,
And be lowly, Lord, like Thee !
5 God the Son our nature took,
Joining Man to Deity ;
May we shun all sinful taint,
And be holy, Lord, like Thee !
6 God the Son has will'd us all
Members of Himself to be ;
May we seek each other's weal,
And be loving, Lord, like Thee !
7 Glory to the Father give,
Glory to the Spirit be,
And to our Incarnate God.
Glory ever, Lord, to Thee ! AMEN.
15 THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST. JAN. 1.
1 GIVEE of Law is God's dear Son,
And from all blemish free ;
Yet deigns He to obey the Law,
And circumcis'd to be
268 Miscellanies.
2 On this Eighth day, He Who abides
In everlasting bliss
Eeceiv'd the Heaven-taught Name, and now
JEHOVAH JESTTS is.
3 0 blessed JESUS, in that Name
What beams of mercy shine !
Kainbow of hope set in the cloud,
For our salvation's sign.
4 0 holy SAVIOUR, heavenly Lord,
While Thy pure flesh does bleed,
Thou, God's own Son, art manifest
To be the Patriarch's Seed.
5 Thou, God and Man, dost make us all
One in Thyself to be ;
All Adam's race are Abraham's sons,
JESU, by Faith in Thee.
6 O make us, like Thee, to obey ;
Give us Thy Spirit, Lord,
And circumcise our hearts, that we
May love and keep Thy Word.
7 So, when the Dead shall rise, and all
Bow at Thy Name Divine,
Thou mayest, Lord, our JESUS be,
And we be ever Thine !
8 Glory to God the Father be,
Glory to God the Son,
Glory to God the Holy Ghost ;
Praise to the Three in One. AMEN.
16. Another for the same Festival, Jan. 1.
NEW YEAR'S DAY.
1 ANOTHEE Year has now begun
With silent pace its course to run ;
Our hearts and voices let us raise
To God in songs of prayer and praise.
2 Accept our penitential tears,
0 Lord, for sins of bygone years ;
And with the blood on Calvary spilt
O wash away Thy servants' guilt.
3 FATHEB, Thy bounteous love we bless,
For gifts and mercies numberless ;
For life and health, for grace and peace,
For hope of joys that never cease.
4 Our Days and Years decay and die,
Mementos of Mortality ;
Make us to see our own brief hours
In falling leaves, and fading flowers.
Epiphany Season. 269
5 0 SON of GOD, in faith and fear
Teach us to walk as strangers here,
With hearts in Heaven, that we may come
To where Thou art, our Father's home.
6 Make us to feel Thee ever nigh,
We ever in our Master's eye,
Mindful of that account to live,
Which we to Thee, our Judge, must give.
7 Thou, Christ, Who makest all things new,
O give us hearts, both pure and true,
That each may shine a precious gem,
Lord, in Thy new Jerusalem.9
8 Grant us, O COMFOETEE, Thy grace,
And speed us on our earthly race,
In body, spirit, and in soul,
Eight onward to the heavenly goal.
9 Blest THEEE in ONE, to Thee we pray,
Protect, and guide us on our way ;
That we with endless joy may see
The New Year of Eternity. AMEN.
17. THE EPIPHANY.
Or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, Jan. 6.
1 THE Heavens declare Thy Glory, Lord,
Thy Love is written in Thy Word ;
Our eyes behold Thy blessed Face
In works of Power, and words of Grace ;
We see Thee, Lord, where'er we look
In Nature's and in Scripture's Book.
2 Thy own prophetic Word of old
Thy future Birth-place had foretold ; *
That Word's fulfilment now is graven
In the bespangled page of Heaven ;
The Star proclaims of David's stem
The King new-born at Bethlehem.
3 The Gentile Sages from afar
Follow the leading of the Star ;
To Judah come ; the heavenly ray
Of Prophecy then points the way ;
They see the Star again appear ;
How great their joy, for Thou art here !
4 Not stagger'd by Thy low estate —
To sight how low, to faith how great ! —
Myrrh, Frankincense, and Gold they bring
To Thee, as Man, as Lord, and King ;
To Thee they open all their store,
And in the Child the GOD adore.
8 Rev. xxi. 5. fl Rev. iii. 12 ; xxi. 19.
1 Micah v. 2.
270 Miscellanies.
5 Lord, make us with keen eye to heed
All lights by which Thou wouldst us lead ;
Help us to toil o'er plain and hill,
In glad obedience to Thy Will ;
To walk by Faith, and humbly fall,
And give to Thee, Who givest all.
6 Thou first to Gentiles wast display'd,
An Infant in a cradle laid ;
But all will see Thee on Thy Throne,
And Thee their Judge and King shall own ;
All Kings before Thee shall fall low,
To JESUS every knee shall bow.
7 Lord, may the Isles Thy law receive,
May all, who know Thee not, believe ;
Arise and on the Nations shine ;
And fill the Earth with Grace Divine ;
That all the World with joy may see
The light of Thine Epiphany. AMEN.
18. THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST?
His Epiphany or Manifestation as the Son of God, and as the Messiah.
1 " I NEED to be baptiz'd of Thee,
And comest Thoa, 0 Lord, to me,
The Greater to the less P " —
" So be it now, it is Our will,
Thus it befits Us to fulfil
The Law of Kighteousness."
2 The heavens are open'd, from above
Glides gently down the holy Dove
Upon the Blessed One ;
And hark ! from parted skies a Voice, —
" Behold Him in Whom I rejoice,
My own beloved Son."
3 Messiah now by Heaven confest
To Israel is manifest ;
Therefore rejoice and sing ;
Adore Him by the Father own'd,
By the anointing Spirit crown'd,
Your Prophet, Priest, and King.
4 Almighty Father, Who, that we
The sons of God in Him might be,
Thine only Son didst give.
In Him accept us, keep us Thine,
And fill us with Thy Love divine,
That we in Him may live.
2 See the Second Lesson : Hymn 20, for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany,
on the Marriage of Cana, may be used on the Evening of this Day ; the
Second Lesson being from John ii., which relates the history of that
Marriage Feast. Hymn 25 may be used. On these Epiphanies, see p. 241.
Season of Epiphany. 271
5 Thou, Christ, Who didst not John despise,
But bad'st Thy Servant Thee baptize,
So teach us to obey ;
Thou, Who didst purify the wave,
And sanctify what did Thee lave,
Our sins to wash away ; 3
6 Help us, 0 Lord, with quicken'd eye
To mark, with ready will comply,
With loving heart believe ;
To see the brightness of Thy Face
Eeveal'd in all Thy means of Grace,
And Thee in them receive.
7 Thou, Holy Ghost, Who, when the Earth
At first was hasteniug to its birth,
Didst on the waters move ; 4
And on our second Adam fall,
Stream down in unction on us all,
0 bless us, Holy Dove !
8 Come, Holy Spirit, to Thine Ark
Toss'd on the waves when days are dark,
And doubts and fears increase ;
Come glistening with Thy silver wing
Through the black cloud, and with Thee bring
Thine olive-branch of Peace.
9 To Father, Lord of power and might,
Fountain of Love, and Source of Light,
And to the Incarnate Son,
And to the Spirit, glory be ;
Praise to the Co-eternal Three,
And to the Godhead One. AMEN.
19. FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY?
The Manifestation of the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ when sitting
as a Child among the Doctors in the Temple ; as seen in the Gospel
of the Week.
1 AMID the Doctors of the Law
In childhood JESUS sits,
And to be catechiz'd by them
In lowliness submits.
2 " Son," Mary says, " 0 why on us
This load of sadness bring ?
Thy Father, know'st Thou not, and I
Have sought Thee, sorrowing?"
3 Lift up thy heart, thou Mother dear,
Lift up thine eyes and see
In Him Who is indeed thy Son,
The Incarnate DEITY.
3 " By the Baptism of Thy well beloved Son Jesus Christ in the river
Jordan didst sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin." — Office
for Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer.
4 Gen i. 2.
5 Hymn 25 may also be used.
272 Miscellanies.
4 His FATHER dwells in Heaven ; He comes
His counsel to fulfil,
And sitting in the Temple here
He does His FATHER'S Will.
5 0 Child most meek, Eternal WORD,
Enlighten us, that we
May see Thy Mother's Lord and King,
Creation's GOD, in Thee.
6 To Nazareth He goes, when first
To God that duty done ;
With Mary and with Joseph dwells
A reverential Son.
7 0 bless'd Obedience ! may we walk
Like Thee, in life and death,
Begin with God, — then gladly serve
In lowly Nazareth.
AMEN.
20. SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY*
The Epiphany or Manifestation of Christ's Godhead at the Marriage
of Cana in Galilee of the Gentiles, as seen in the Gospel of the
Week.
1 " THEY have no wine." Christ's Mother said, —
But wouldst thou Him command
Who made thee, Mary, and the World,
By His Almighty Hand ?
"Woman, thy Womanhood remember now,
Not Mother of Christ's DEITY art thou.
2 " Mine hour is not yet come," — As God
He has no hour : but He
As Man His suffering hour will have,
When hanging on the Tree ;
Then, when His sorrowing Mother He shall see,
Thy Son with filial love will comfort thee ?
3 " The waterpots with water fill,
Draw out."— By Will Divine
The Water has its nature changed,
And reddens into Wine.
At Cana's Marriage-Feast a welcome Guest
Thus Jesus did His GODHEAD manifest.
4 0 Lord, by Thine Almighty power
Working in shower and shine,
Purple and golden clusters hang
Upon the fruitful Vine ;
Thou, Lord, unseen, art walking in our fields,
Giving to earth all increase that it yields.
6 Hymn 25 may also be used.
i John xix. 26. Isa. liii., foretelling Christ's Passion, is the first Lesson
of the Evening of the First Sunday after Epiphany.
Epiphany Season. 273
6 Thou, Christ, to take our human flesh
Wast by the Father sent,
And joining Man to God hast changed
Our natural element ;
Thou, Lord, hast fill'd by power and grace divine
Our waterpots of stone with heavenly Wine.
6 Thou, Christ, the Bridegroom from tin high,
Hast to our Cana come,
The Bride Thy Church is near Thy heart ;
Thou art Thyself her home ;
0 keep us Thine by faith and love that we
Guests at Thy Marriage- Feast in Heaven may be.
7 To Father, Who the Son did send,
To Son, who came in love,
To Spirit, Who on God made flesh
Descended from above,
Honour, and blessing, praise and glory be,
One Everliving God, and Persons Three.
AMEN.
21. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY*
The Manifestation of the Godhead in Christ as the Physician of Body
and Soul : as seen in the Gospel of the Week.
1 DOWN from the Mountain Jesus came,
And stretching forth His Hand,
" Be clean," He said : the Leper's taint
Was cleansed at His command.
2 Our Nature was defiled by Sin ;
But God from Heaven came down,
Stretch'd forth His Hand, our Nature touch 'd
And join'd it to His own.
3 0 God, made manifest in flesh,
We render thanks to Thee,
Thou great Physician, Who hast cleansed
A World from Leprosy.
4 The Gentile Captain comes in faith ;
Thou blessest his appeal ;
Far off as Man, but near as God,
Thou dost his servant heal.
5 Fever and Plague serve in Thy camp,
They are Thy Soldiers, Lord ;
And when to Health Thou sayest, " Come,"
It cometh at Thy Word.
6 Stretch forth Thy hand, and heal us, Lord,
In body and in soul ;
From sickness and from taint of sin
Cleanse us, and make us whole.
8 Hymn 25 may also be used.
VOL. II. T
2 74 Miscellanies.
7 To God, and to the Incarnate Son,
Who rescued us when lost,
Be glory now and evermore,
And to the Holj Ghost. AMEN.
22. FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY.9
The Manifestation of the Godhead in Christ delivering from Danger in
Body and Soul : as seen in the Gospel of the Week.
1 THE winds and billows loudly roar,
We founder in the deep :
Our bark is frail, far off the shore,
And Jesus is asleep.
2 " Save us, we perish, Lord," they cry ;
To Him they fly for aid ;
" Awake ! awake ! " they say ; — But why
So faithless and afraid?
3 His Head is pillow'd on the stern,
As Man He is asleep ;
As GOD He all things does discern,
And endless vigils keep.
4 His Hand the Elements controls :
By His Almighty Will
The angry Sea its surges rolls ;
And at His Word is still.
5 0 ye, who in the Church's Bark
O'er life's rough ocean sail,
When all around is drear and dark,
And human efforts fail,
6 Touch not, with rude, irreverent hands,
And coward faithlessness,
HIM, Who the winds and waves command ; —
But wait in quietness.
7 0 never, never, when distrest,
To doubtful means resort ;
Christ's Bark when on the billow's crest
Is safe as in the port. AMEN.
23. The same Subject continued.
With the Gospel of this Week (Matt. viii. 28) compare Mark v. 1, &c.,
Luke viii. 26, &c.
1 ONE with a legion of foul fiends possess'd,
Who a fierce wanderer in dark tombs had been,
Now rescued from those fiends, with mien composed,
Sitting in peace at JESTJ'S feet is seen.
2 Once a lost World to Satan's power a prey
In Sin's dark tombs and desert caves did roam ;
But JESUS came, freed it from Satan's grasp,
Clothed it and lodged it in a peaceful home.
9 Hymns 23 and 25 may also be used.
Epiphany Season. 275
3 Lord, when we wander in wild lonely ways,
With moody minds, by troubled thoughts distrest,
O come to us, reclaim us with Thy grace,
0 place us at Thy feet, and give us rest.
4 The unclean Herd was feeding on the hill ;
The Devils dispossess'd, by leave of Thee
Enter the swine, and with a whirlwind's force
Whelm the two thousand headlong in the sea.
5 0 save us, Lord, from Satan and his doom
The Lake of Fire, that terrible abyss ;
O cleanse us, Lord, that we may dwell with Thee
In the pure regions of eternal bliss.
6 To God the Father, and Eternal Son,
To Holy Ghost, the Lord of Life and Love,
To the Eternal Blessed Three in One,
Be praise from all on earth, and heaven above. AMEN.
24. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY}
The Manifestation of the Godhead in Christ overruling Evil for Good,
and bringing Good out of Evil, in the World and in the Church
(as seen in the Gospel of the Week, the Parable of the Tares and
the Wheat) preparatory for the Great Epiphany or Manifestation
of Christ coming to judge.
1 GOD, when the heavens and earth were made,
Pronounced them very good ;
And freely gave all fruits to Man,
Save of one Tree, for food.
2 Eve by the Serpent was beguiled,
And tempted Man to eat ;
He now a wanderer is, exiled
From Eden's happy seat.
3 Satan, by Woman work'd our woe,
And Man was captive led ;
But God in Man, the Woman's Seed,
Has bruised the Serpent's head.
4 God's own dear Son, that all might live;
His soul to death did yield ;
He sows the good seed of His Word
In the whole World, His Field.2
5 But men, who should be watchful, sleep ;
Then comes their ghostly Foe,
Sows Tares of Error in the Field,
And with the Wheat they grow.
6 Shall we uproot the Tares, O Lord ?
No : Do not antedate
The Day of Doom, the Harvest- Day ;
But wait, in patience wait.
1 Hymn 25 may also be used. 2 Matt. xiii. 38.
T 2
276 Miscellanies.
7 The mingled Field a seed-plot is,
A consecrated ground,
In which all Christian Virtues grow,
All heavenly Fruits abound.
8 Be not provoked to quit the Field;
In gentle meekness live ;
The Field is CHBIST'S, no other soil
Can Grace and Glory give.
9 The trial of the searching Time
Will make thy Faith more bright ;
The gloom of Error round thee spread
Will manifest thy Light.
10 With Tares ye are, but be not Tares ;
Love sinners, not their sins ;
Trust God ; where human labour ends
Omnipotence begins.
11 Love sweetens all life's bitter streams
By casting in the wood 3
Of Jesu's Cross ; unharm'd by ill
It conquers ill with good.
12 The Tares may exercise the Wheat
To bear, and to forbear ;
The Tares to Wheat may changed be
By Faith, and Love, and Prayer.
13 He who at Passover denied,
At Pentecost did teach ;
He who now persecutes as Saul,
May become Paul, and preach.
14 The Tares await the future Day,
And pre-announce the End,
When Christ the Lord will root them up,
With all things that offend.
15 Lord, in that Day, when for the fire
The Tares shall sever 'd be,
May we be garner'd in the Barn,
The heavenly Barn, by Thee !
16 Praise to our God and Father give,
Praise the Incarnate Son,
And praise to God the Spirit be,
Eternal Three in One. AMEN.
25. SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY.*
A Recapitulation of the successive Epiphanies or Manifestations of
Christ, which have been already presented in the Services of the
3 See Exod. xv. 23, 25 : the waters of Marah. S. Jerom. In Mansion,
v. : " His aquis si immittitur confessio crucis, et Dominicse Passionis
sacramenta jungantur, omne quod impotabile et triste videbatur, vertitur
in dulcedinem."
* See also the next Hymn.
Retrospect of past Epiphanies : Prospect of future. 277
former weeks throughout the season of EPIPHANY; and which
are preparatory to that future great and glorious EPIPHANY, at
which Christ will be manifested to all, when He will appear again to
judge the World. See the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel of this Week.
1 SONGS of thankfulness and praise,
Jesu, Lord, to Thee we raise,
Manifested by the Star
To the Sages from afar ;
Branch of Royal David's stem
In Thy birth at Bethlehem ;
Anthems be to Thee addrest,
God in Man made manifest.
2 Manifest at Jordan's stream,
Prophet, Priest, and King supreme;
And at Cana's Marriage Guest,
In Thy Godhead manifest ;
Manifest in power Divine
Changing Water into Wine ;
Anthems be to Thee addrest,
God in Man made manifest.
3 Manifest in making whole
Palsied limbs and fainting soul ;
Manifest in valiant fight,
Quelling all the Devil's might ;
Manifest in gracious will,
Bringing ever good from ill ;
Anthems be to Thee addrest,
God in Man made manifest.
4 Sun and Moon shall darken'd be,
Stars shall fall, the heavens shall flee ;
Christ will then like lightning shine,
All will see His glorious Sign :
All will then the Trumpet hear ;
All will see the Judge appear ;
He by all will be confest
God in Man made manifest.
5 Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord,
Present in Thy holy Word ;
May we imitate Thee now,
And be pure, as pure art Thou ;
That we like to Thee may be
At Thy Groat EPIPHANY ;
And may praise Thee, ever blest,
God in Man made manifest. AMEN.
26. ANOTHER FOB THE SAME SEASON.'
The Transfiguration; a ^Revelation of Christ's Glory at His future
great Epiphany, or He-appearing, at the Great Day ; and of the
future glorified Sadies of the Saints.
1 AT Thy Transfiguration, Lord,
Thy countenance did glow
Bright as the sun, Thy raiment shone
And glisten'd as the snow.
278 Miscellanies .
2 With Thee, in glory, Moses was ;
And that prophetic Seer,
Who in a fiery car to heaven
Was home — did re-appear ;
3 Moses, the Giver of the Law,
Was with Elijah there ;
And by the Apostolic three
They recognized were.
4 Blest Vision ! they who, Lord, are Thine
In faith, while here below,
Will be for ever Thine in bliss,
And will each other know.
5 Although their bodies hid from men,
Like that of Moses, be ;
Scatter'd to winds, consumed in flame,
Or whelmed in the sea ;
6 Yet Thou dost count the dust of each ;
And at Thy Trumpet's call
All bodies will again appear,
And each be seen by all.
7 At Thy Transfiguration, Lord,
Gleam'd forth that light Divine,
With which Thy blessed Saints in heaven
Will ever with thee shine.
8 When Moses and Elias then
Convers'd with Thee, the theme
Was Thine own precious Death,5 by which
Thou wouldst the World redeem.
9 Mysterious converse ! To Thy Cross
The Saints their graces owe ;
Thy Cross the Fountain is of light,
From which their glories flow ;
10 The streams of precious Blood which flow'd
Forth from Thy wounded side,
Cleanse Thy dear Church from earthly taint,
And sanctify the Bride.
11 The splendours of her future bliss
Are purchased by Thy Death ;
The Crown of thorns, that gall'd Thy brow,
Weaves her bright bridal wreath.
12 To Father and to Holy Ghost,
And, Lamb of God, to Thee,
Who grace and glory dost bestow,
Eternal praises be ! AMEN.
27. SEPTUAGESIMA.
The Creation; and Institution of Marriage ; described in the First
Lessons of this Day.
5 Luke ix. 31.
Septuagesima, Sexagesima ; the Fall. 2 79
Labour is necessary, but all its efficacy and reward are due to Divine
Grace : as taught in the Epistle and Gospel of the Week.6
1 HOLY, Holy, Holy Lord,
Maker of this worldly frame ;
Heaven and Earth together sing
Hallelujahs to Thy Name.
2 Man from Earth created was
In Thine Image by Thy Word ;
Thou didst life into him breathe,
Making him Creation's lord.
3 And, when he was laid asleep,
Thou didst fashion from his side
Mother of all living, Eve ;
And didst give her as his Bride.
4 Man by disobedience fell,
But Thou saidst in mercy, Lord,
That Mankind should rise again,
By the Woman's Seed restored.
5 Christ, the Woman's Seed, is born ;
Christ, the second Adam, gives
Peace and Pardon ; by His Death
Man, anew created, lives.
6 Lo ! He sleeps the sleep of Death,
From Him Blood and Water flows ;
And to them the Church His Eve
All her life and glory owes.
7 We are in Thy Vineyard, Lord ;
Thou dost us in Eden place ;*
We must labour, but the fruit
Is the guerdon of Thy Grace.
8 Nothing have we, Thine are all
Showers that water, suns that shine ;
Thine be all the Glory, Lord,
All we are and do, is Thine.
9 Praise to God the Father give ;
Glory be to God the Son ;
Praise be to the Holy Ghost;
Glory to the Three in One. AMEN.
28. SEXAGESIMAL
The Fall of Man, and his expulsion from Paradise, as related in the
First Lesson of this Morning; and the Parable of the Sower, in the
Gospel.
1 THEEE was of old a Place,
A happy Place and fair ;
No weeds did it deface,
No barren nook was there.
6 Hymn 62 to the Blessed Trinity may also be used.
7 John xix. 34. 8 The next Hymn may also be used.
280 Miscellanies.
2 But in that lovely spot,
Which blossom'd as the rose,
Where weeds and thorns were, not,
Now many a bramble grows.
3 Man's heart at first was free
From weeds of sin and vice ;
And planted, Lord, by Thee,
It blpom'd like Paradise.
4 But now that Garden fair
With thorns is overgrown ;
Oft, as the wayside, bare,
And harder oft than stone.
5 0 grant us, Lord, Thy grace.
And help our weary toil,
To clear this tangled place,
And purge the weed-grown so.il.
@ -With genial showers do Thou
Soften our rocky parts ;
In fruitful furrows plough
The wayside of our hearts.
7 The good seed of Thy Word
With firm and deep-set root
May we retain, 0 Lord,
And bring forth timely fruit.
8 So may our hearts, — made free
From weeds of sin and vice, —
Again Thy Eden be,
And bloom like Paradise ! AMEN.
29. Another Hymn for SEX A GESIMA and Q UINQ, UA GESIMA.
Warning to flee God's Judgments, and to accept Sis Means of Grace,
slighted and derided by the world : with reference to the History of
the Ark, and of the Flood, as related in the First Lessons of this
Season.
1 " IT will not come, it will not come ! " —
They reck not of the Flood ;
" And wherefore with such weary toil
Raise up that pile of wood P
How should thine Ark e'er reach the sea ?
How, on this midland, floated be ? "
2 The Sea's great gulfs are broken up ;
Heaven's windows open'd are ;
For forty days the Rain prevails ;
The Mountains disappear ;
The faithless die ; the Ark, their scorn,
Safe on the Flood, their grave, is borne.
3 Lord, give us willing hearts to hear
Not the World's voice, but Thine,
The Flood — Quinquagcsima . 281
To fear Thy Warnings, and to love
Thy means of Grace Divine ;
So may we in Thine Ark abide,
Unscar'd by wind and foaming tide.
4 And when another Flood shall come, —
Not Water, but of Fire,—
When in the billowy surge of flame
All nature shall expire,
We on Thine Ararat may be,
Anchor'd in heavenly peace wi;th Thee ! AMEN.
30.
The Grace of Charity, or Love, as described in the Epistle of
the Week.
1 GBACIOTTS Spirit, Holy Ghost,
Taught by Thee we covet most
Of Thy gifts at Pentecost,
Holy, heavenly Love.
2 Faitb that mountains could remove,
Tongues of earth or Heaven above,
Knowledge — all things — empty prove,
Without heavenly Love.
3 Though I as a Martyr bleed,
Give my goods the poor to feed,
All is vain, if love I need ;
Therefore, Give me Love.
4 Love is kind, and suffers long,
Love is meek, and thinks no wrong,
Love than death itself more strong ;
Therefore, Give us Love.
5 Prophecy will fade away,
Melting in the light of day ;
Love will ever with us stay ;
Therefore, Give us Love.
6 Faith will vanish into sight ;
Hope be emptied in delight ;
Love in Heaven will shine more bright ;
Therefore, Give us Love.
7 Faith and Hope and Love we see
Joining hand m hand agree ;
But the greatest of the three,
And the best, is Love.
8 From the overshadowing
Of Thy gold and silver wing,
Shed on us, who to Thee sing,
Holy, heavenly Love ! AMEN.
282 Miscellanies.
31. A SH- WEDNESDA Y*
Or the First Day of LENT.
1 IN sorrow and distress,
To Thee, 0 Lord, we fly ;
In penitential lowliness,
To Thee for mercy cry.
2 Mercy, 0 Mercy, Lord ;
From Thee we have our breath :
And it is written in Thy Word,
" God willeth not your death." '
3 " God gave His Only Son
Your sins to take away ; 2
And God's dear Son to Heaven is gone
On your behalf to pray." 3
4 By Thine own love we plead,
In mercy hear our prayer ;
By Him Who for our sins did bleed,
Spare us, 0 Father, spare.
5 Our drooping minds refresh
With showers of heavenly dew ;
For hearts of stone give hearts of flesh,
Renew us, Lord, renew.
6 Comfort and make us whole
With Thy free Spirit's grace ;
Lift up, 0 Lord, upon our soul
The brightness of Thy face.
7 With Jesu's white robe hide
Our manifold offence ;
And cleanse with blood from Jesu's siije
Our tears of penitence.
8 0 teach us to abhor
The sins that made Him grieve ;
And never tempt the Spirit more
Our thankless hearts to leave.
9 Make us, 0 Lord, to tread
The path which Jesus trod ;
Which Him from earth in triumph led
To the right hand of God,
10 So, with Thy Saints in Heaven,
May we sing praise to Thee,
For peace restor'd, and sins forgiven,
To all eternity. A M i: .\ .
9 See also below, the Hymn for Commination, No. 118.
1 Ezek. xviii. 32 ; xxxiii. 11. 1 Tim. ii. 4. 2 Pet. iii. 9.
2 Rom. viii. 32. 1 John ii. 2 ; iii. 5.
3 Heb. vii. 25.
Lent — The Temptation. 283
32. FIRST SUNDA Y IN LENT*
Prayer for godly Mortification ; see the Collect and Gospel of
the Week.
1 MAN fell from grace by carnal appetite,
And forfeited the Garden of Delight ;
To fast for us our Second Adam deigns
These forty days, and Paradise regains.
2 So Moses fasted and received the Law ;
Elias fasted and God's glory saw ;
Moses, Elias, join'd with Christ our Head,
Upon the Mountain were transfigured.
3 0 give us grace our appetites to tame,
To love Thy Word, and glorify Thy Name ;
So we may, Lord, with all Thy Saints and Thee,
Upon Thy heavenly Hill transfigur'd be.
4 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be praise ;
Blest Three in One, to Thee our hearts we raise ;
On wings of Prayer and Fasting may we soar,
To dwell with Thee, through Christ, for evermore !
AMEN.
33. ANOTHER HYMN FOR THE SAME SUNDAY.
Christ's Temptation, and Victory over the Tempter by means of HOLY
SCRIPTURE. See the Gospel for the Week.
1 FIVE pebbles from the brook
The Shepherd David drew;5
One of those five he took,
And proud Goliath slew.
2 He went forth all alone,
. No armour had he on ;
But with a sling and stone
The victory he won.
3 There is a holy Stream,
By God's pure well-spring fed ;
Bright polish'd pebbles gleam,
Like jewels, in its bed.
4 The BIBLE is that Brook ;
The five Books of God's Law
JESUS, our David, took ;
One 6 forth from them did draw ;
5 Unarmed and alone
He went to meet the Foe ;
And with that single Stone
He laid the Tempter low.
* The next Hymn may also be used.
5 1 Sam. xvii. 40—49. The Philistine presented himself forty days,
v. 16. This Hymn is derived from a Sermon of S. Augustine (Serm. 32).
6 The Book of Deuteronomy : all our Lord's replies to Satan at the
Temptation are taken from that book.
284 Miscellanies.
6 Sing praises to our Lord,
Glad Hallelujahs sing,
Who conquer 'd by His WOED ;
Our Captain and our King.
7 Lord, arm us with that WOHD,
With Faith in Thee our Shield ;
We need no other sword ;
Teach us that sword to wield.
8 Help us to put to flight
Our Ghostly Enemy ;
Help us like Thee to fight,
And give us victory,
9 Thou, Who didst conquer Deatty
By dying on the tree,
Receive our dying breath,
That we may live with Thee !
10 To Father and to Son,
And Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Eternal Three in One,
Eternal glory be. AMEN.
HYMN for EMBER DAYS, being Wednesday, Friday, and Satur
day after tfye First Sunday in Lent, see below, No. 120.
34. SECOND S UNDA Y IN LENT.
The faithful Canaanitish Woman in the Gospel of this Week, accepted
by Christ the promised Seed of Abraham, in Whom all Nations are
blessed, as declared in the First Lesson of last Sunday Evening.
1 WHEN Abraham upon the wood
His only Son did lay,
And at Moriah's altar stood,
He saw by faith Thy Day.7
2 Thou on the wood wert laid, 0 Lord,
A ransom'd World to save ;
He saw Thee in his son restored
Arising from the grave.8
3 His faith received a glorious meed,
God promised that in Thee,
O mighty Saviour, Abraham's Seed,
All Nations blest should be.
4 In Isaac we the figure saw,9
We saw the promise seal'd ;
The Gospel J now lights up the Law,
The substance is reveal'd.
5 Lo ! in the Faithful Canaanite
The Gentile Church appears,
Hasting in love to Christ her Light,
With earnest cries and tears.
7 John viii. 56. 8 Heb. xi. 19.
9 In Gen. xxii., the Proper Lesson for last Sunday evening.
' The Gospel for the week. Matt. xv. 21.
Lent — Abraham — Joseph. 285
6 The answer was in love delay 'd,
That she might be more blest ;
" Great is thy faith," at length He said,
And granted her request.
7 Lo ! Afric's Land 2 with bended knee
Darts forth her hands to God,8
As Israel free went through the sea
Parted by Moses' ro'd ;
8 To Christ she comes : 0 haste the time
When all as one shall be ;
May every Eace in every clime
Be Abraham's Seed in Thee !
9 Praise God the Father, and the Sofl,
Who sav'd the World when lost,
And in Himself has made us one ;
Praise to the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
35. THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT.
Exhortation to Self-denial and to Purity and Chastity , from the Epistle
of the Week, and from the Proper Lessons of the season, presenting
the history of Joseph, a type of Christ in His humiliation and sub
sequent exaltation to the right hand of God.
1 " AWAKE ! awake ! " the Apostle cries,4
"And Christ shall give thee light,"
Your own ye are not, live to Him,
For His ye are by right ;
Bought by His precious life-blood's cost,
And temples of the Holy Ghost.
2 0 holy JESUS ! of all lights
Thou art the Source divine ;
Glimpses of Thee in Joseph's life,
And gleams of glory shine ;
His light with Thine does set and rise,
Joseph brings JESUS to our eyes.
3 With chastity his course begins,
He breaks the Tempter's snare ;
In prison, at the King's right hand,
With him Thou, Lord, art there ;
We see the Chariot ; " Bow the knee " 5
We hear, and think, 0 Lord, of Thee.
4 Teach us to flee unhallow'd joys,
As ever in Thine eye,
And looking to Thy Cross and Crown
To walk in Purity,
That through the Prison of the Tomb
We to Thy Palace, Lord, may come. AMEN.
2 Of the Canaanitish family. 3 PH. Ixviii. 31.
* In the Epistle of the Week. « Gen. xli. 43 ; cp. Phil. ii. 10.
286 Miscellanies.
36. FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
Christ ever feeding His People in their Pilgrimage through the wilder
ness of this world to their home in the heavenly Jerusalem ; see the
Gospel.
PABT I.
1 THE Sun is sinking in the west ;
And while its rays decline,
Gleams of the full-orb'd Paschal Moon
On the calm waters shine.
2 The Galilean waters hush'd
In eventide are still ;
Yet crowds of weary wanderers wait
Upon the lonely hill.
3 Pilgrims they are for Sion bound,
Whose Paschal Feast is near;
But the true Passover Himself
Receives and feeds them here.
4 They sit upon the grassy turf,
Order'd in groups and rows ;
Christ holds the food, which in His hand
And by His blessing grows.
5 He gives the food ; the Apostles take,
Distribute it, and then
Two fishes and five barley loaves
Regale five thousand men.
6 0 Blessed Lord ! The Earth is Thine,
By Thy creative hand
The golden Harvests crown the year,
And deck the fertile land.
7 0 Blessed Lord ! Thou Bread of Life
That comest down from heav'n !
Supplies of everlasting food
By Thee to Man are giv'n.
8 Thy Godhead is the well-spring, Lord,
The pure, exhaustless source,
From which they flow through age to age
In never-ending course.
9 In channels form'd by Thee they flow,
In rivulets of grace,
Refreshing all who wander here
In this world's desert place.
10 0 feed us weary pilgrims, Lord,
And to Thy Sion" bring,
To keep a heavenly Feast with Thee,
Our Prophet, Priest, and King. AMEN.
PART II.
Sequel to the above.
After feeding the five Thousand (see the Gospel) Christ went up into a
Mountain alone to pray, and in the fourth watch of the night came
The Miraculous feeding — Walking on tlie Sea. 287
walking on the Sea to His Disciples in the Storm. (Matt. xiv. 22, 23.
Mark vi. 45—52. John vi. 14 — 21.) A Miracle and a Prophecy.
1 WHEN Christ had blest the loaves,
And sent the crowd away,
He to the Mountain went apart,
Alone He went to pray.
2 Thou, Lord, the Living Bread
To feed the world hast given ;
And now Thou ever praying art
Upon the hills of Heaven.
3 Thy Church is tost with waves,
The night is drear and dark,
A weary night to all who row
In that storm-beaten bark ;
4 But Thou wilt come again,
In the last watch of night,
And walking on the stormy waves
Wilt shine with glorious light.
5 All swellings of the proud
Thou wilt beneath Thee beat ;
The billows of the World will be
A pavement for Thy feet.
6 And then, 0 Lord, Thy Church
In heavenly peace will be,
Securely anchor'd evermore
In the calm crystal sea. AMEN.
PAST III.
Christ's walking on the Sea, and coming in the Night to His Apos ties,
compared with His mysterious Coming to us in the Holy Sacraments.
1 THE Waters were Thy Path ;
Thy Way was on the Sea :
Who, in that Night, could trace Thy steps P
Who, solve the mystery ?
2 Some at Capernaum ask'd
" When and how cam'st Thou here P "
In vain they tried to find the track
By which Thou didst appear.
3 But Thy disciples, Lord,
Did gladly Thee receive ;
And then the ship was at the shore :
They pried not, but believe.
4 Lord, in Thy Sacraments
Thou walkest on the Sea ;
We dare not ask, " How dost Thou come P "
But gladly welcome Thee.
5 So will the winds be hush'd,
The waves no longer roar ;
When Thou art with us in the ship,
Our ship is at the shore.
288 Miscellanies.
6 Give to the Father praise,
And praise be to the Son,
And praise be to the Holy Ghost,
Praise to the Three in One. AMEN.
37. FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT.
Christ, the true High Priest, entering into the heavenly Holy of Holies
with His own Blood, shed once for all to take away the sins of the
world. See the Epistle for this Week.
1 " HOLY of Holies," awful name —
Where, in a still retreat,
The presence of the Godhead dwelt,
Upon the Mercy-seat.
Veil'd from the eye in darkness dim,
Enthroned between the Cherubim.
2 Once in the year within the Veil
In mystic robes array "d
The High Priest enter'd, and with blood
An expiation made ;
But blood of victims could not cleanse
And purge the guilt of man's offence.
3 0 Great Redeemer ! God and Man,
Victim and Priest in one :
Thou entering Heaven with Thine own Blood
Didst once for all atone ;
Thou hast removed the awful cloud
Which once the oracle did shroud.
4 Now a bright Rainbow o'er the Throne 6
Sheds lustre from above,
Where showers of Judgment mildly shine
Gilded by beams of Love ;
Thy Blood, 0 Lamb of God, is there,
Pleading for us with ceaseless Prayer.
5 Cleansed by that Blood we now approach
Boldly the Throne of Grace ;
0 may we following the LAMB
Come to that Holy Place !
Lord, Who for us didst deign to bleed,
Be Thou our help in time of need !
38. SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER.1
Jesus Christ our Example in suffering, see Collect and Epistle.
1 0 THOU, the Way, the Truth, the Life,
JESU, Creator, mighty Lord,
Eternal Sire's Eternal Son,
By hosts angelical adored,
Thou deignedst for us to be born,
To suffer grief, and bitter scorn.
s See Rev. iv. 3.
7 The Hymn above, No. 6, may be used. Also, the Hymns below,
No. 52 and No. 73.
Week before Easter. 289
2 To-day Thy Passion- Week begins ;
Thou comest forth in lowly guise,
A King, yet riding on a foal ;
And while the Crowd " Hosanna " cries,
Thou weepest o'er the City's fate,
Most meek and most compassionate !
3 In love Thou comest to Thine own,
But by Thine own rejected art ;
A place wherein to lay Thy head
Jerusalem will not impart ;
In her there is no room for Thee ;
Thy home is lowly Bethany.
4 O Man of Sorrows ! dark and drear
The path is which before Thee lies,
Gethsemane, the bitter cup,
Depths of unfathom'd agonies,
The weight of woes that on Thee lay
Nail'd to the Cross at Golgotha.
5 But through that fierce and furious storm;
Through all the hurricane and shock
Of mockery and fiendish hate,
Which beat like surges on the Bock,
God brings Thee to the crystal sea
Of glorious Immortality.
6 O Saviour, Thine Example shines
With splendour luminous and pure,
To all on life's dark billows tost,
Like to the polar Cynosure :
Guide us through storms, 0 Lord, with Thed
To calms of blest Eternity ! AMEN.
39. Christ, our everlasting Priest and King, typified by Melchizedek.
Heb. v. to v. 11.
1 BEIGHT beacon on an island rock
Above the stormy sea,
Shines forth Melchizedek, 0 Lord,
A glorious Type of Thee.
2 He, King of Salem, — King of Peace,—
And King of Righteousness,
Comes forth a Priest, with Bread and Wine,
The Patriarch to bless.
3 Him Priest and Father, Levi's Sire 8
Did not refuse to call ;
Him faithful Abraham revered,
And gave him tithes of all.
4 No predecessor as a Priest,
No successor had he ;
None can recount his years, nor trace
His genealogy ;
5 Thou, Priest Eternal, Prince of Peace,
" The LORD our RIGHTEOUSNESS,"
8 Abraham. Heb. vii. 10.
VOL. II. U
290 Miscellanies.
Who standing art at God's Right Hand
To pray for us, and bless ;
6 And ever dost refresh our hearts,
Bringing forth Bread and Wine,
Pledges of pardon, means of grace,
And gifts of life divine ;
7 0 grant us grace to praise Thee, Lord,
To Thee glad homage pay ;
To trust in JESUS as our Priest,
And as our King obey. AMEN.
40. The Offices of Christ in the work of Redemption .
1 HAIL ! the Woman's promised Seed,
Born to bruise the Serpent's head ;
Help us, Lord, in will and deed,
By Thy power on him to tread.
2 Hail ! Thou Paschal Lamb Divine,
Slain to save us by Thy Blood ;
Cleanse us by that Blood of Thine,
Save us from the fiery flood.
3 Hail ! Thou Prophet, Priest, and King ;
Teach us to receive Thy Word,
Trusting in Thine Offering,
Serving Thee, the only Lord.
4 Thou, Who earnest once to save,
And to judge wilt come again,
Raise us now from sin's dark grave,
That we, Lord, with Thee may reign.
AMEN.
41. MONDAY BEFORE EASTER.
Christ's Sufferings leading to Glory. See the Epistle?
1 WHO is this that comes from Edom,
Clad in robes with carnage stain'd ;
Bringing victory and freedom
By His martial prowess gain'd ? —
Tis the Captain of Salvation
Who is conquering in the fight,
Rescuing a lost creation
By His unassisted might.
2 Lord, the work which Thou art doing
Is a work of bitter pain ;
But the course Thou art pursuing
Is a course of glorious gain ; ,
In a Passion-tide beginning
It will lead to bright renown,
And Thy Cross a way is winning
To an everlasting Crown.
' Hymn No. 26 above, the latter part, may also be used ; and Hymn
73.
Week before Easter. 291
3 Through that cloud of shame and sorrow
Brilliant gleams of light appear,
Whence we hope and comfort borrow
In our griefs and struggles here ;
Thou dost conquer Death by dying ;
By Thy Death we ever live ;
Thou to us in darkness lying
Dost immortal Glory give.
4 Cruel hands of sinners bound Thee,
Thou a captive World hast freed ;
They with thorns in mockery crown'd Thee,
Placing in Thy hand a reed ;
Now a starry Crown Thou wearest,
Heavenly King, Almighty Lord ;
Sceptre of the World Thou bearest,
And by Angels art adored.
5 Glory be to God the Father,
Who has giv'n His only Son,
And in Christ does all men gather
To Himself, and make them one ;
And to Him, Who by His merit
Gain'd for us the Victory,
And to God the Holy Spirit,
Glory, endless Glory, be. AMEN.
42. TUESDA Y BEFORE EA STER.
Christ's exhortation to Sis Disciples on this day, after the withering
of the barren leafy fig-tree ; an exhortation to Faith in Christ in
times of trial, and tofrtiitfulness of life.
1 THE Pig-tree near the wayside show'd
Its bright leaves from afar,
But those bright leaves, which look'd so fair,
Now sere and blighted are.
2 Green leaves it had, but fruit had none ;
Christ came and look'd for fruit ;
" Let none e'er eat of thee," He said ; —
It wither'd to the root.
3 " Have Faith in God " '—yon City 2 now
Shines brightly in the sun ;
Christ searches it ; it shows much leaf,
But fruit of Faith has none.
4 Soon Christ will wither'd seem to be
By that proud City's scorn ;
But Passion-tide will lead Him forth
To a bright Easter Morn.
5 " Have Faith in God.'' Be not perplex'd
By Calvary's suffering ;
From that dark Winter Christ will rise
To an eternal Spring.
1 Mark xi. 22. 2 Jerusalem.
U 2
292 Miscellanies.
6 " Have Faith in God ; " that City proud,-
That leafy barren Tree, —
Will by the lightnings of His Word
Wither 'd for ever be.
7 The Hypocrite and evil man
May nourish in the breeze
Of wayside earthly Fame ; but God
Will blight all barren Trees.
8 Root us in Faith, and make us, Lord,
Bear fruit of holy Love,
That we may ever live with Thee
In Paradise above !
9 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Eternal glory be,
Whose grace enables to bear fruit,
One God, and Persons Three. AMEN.
43. WEDNESDAY BEFORE EASTER.
Christ's Prophecy before Sis Passion concerning the Judgments im
pending over Jerusalem, and the future Judgment of the World
typified by that national judgment. (Matt. xxiv. 1 — 42. Mark
x'iii. 1—37. Luke xxi. 5—36).
1 JERUSALEM ! thy Judge will come
With woe and desolation ;
Signs are appearing of thy doom,
Distress and tribulation ;
Rome is Christ's vassal, she will be
His Minister of wrath to thee,
And to thy guilty Nation.
2 He will thee visit for thy sin,
And when His Hand hath found thee,
Rome with her arms will hem thee in,
And cast a trench around thee ;
Though now thy Temple shines so fair,
No stone will, soon be standing there,
When once her troops surround thee.
3 O mighty Earth ! Thy Judge will come
With woe and desolation ;
Signs are appearing of thy doom,
Distress and tribulation ;
With Angel-hosts the Judge of all
Upon the clouds will come, and call
The World to its probation.
4 Thou Lord most glorious, Who didst deign
To die for our salvation,
And everlastingly wilt reign
In heavenly exaltation,
O may we fear Thy judgments now,
And then with joy before Thee bow,
The Lord of all creation ! AMEN.
The Holy Communion. 293
44. THURSDA Y BEFORE EA STER.
The Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, instituted on this day ; see
the Epistle?
1 SON of God, Incarnate Word,
Thou the Source and only Thou
Art the Fountain, whence, O Lord,
Pardon, Grace, and Glory flow ;
God in Man, we have from Thee
Life and Immortality.
2 On Thy Passion's holy eve
Thou a last bequest didst give,
Whence we might the fruits receive
Of Thy Death, and hy it live :
Christ is in us, we in Christ,
In the Holy Eucharist.
3 There Thou ever feeding art
Faithful souls with heavenly food ;
There Thyself Thou dost impart,
And dost cleanse us with Thy Blood :
There the Cloud with Manna teems,
There the Rock with water streams.
4 Faith, 0 Lord, Thee present sees,
Faith beholds and touches Thee
In those holy mysteries,
With devout humility :
And the heavenly virtue feels
Which from Thee flows forth and heals.
6 All unworthy, Lord, are we, —
Sinners in a sullied dress, —
But we come, that we may be
Clothed in Thy worthiness ;
Graciously receive us, Lord,
Meekly coming at Thy word.
6 Thou wert in a manger laid,
And wilt not our hearts despise ;
He who humbly to Thee pray'd
Went with Thee to Paradise ;
" Take and eat," Thou, Lord, dost say ;
" Drink ye all ; " — we, Lord, obey.
PAET II.
7 Now, 0 Lord, we fear not death,
We in Thee, and in us Thou,
Thou our life-blood, Thou our breath ;
Gates of hell are conquer'd now ;
Christ who triumph'd o'er the Grave
Is Omnipotent to save.
8 Now we, Lord, Thy temples are,
Now we peace and pardon find,
;| See also Hymn 61 and Hymn 88, and Parts ii. and iii. of Hymn 36.
294 Miscellanies.
Bond of Love and Balm of care,
Courage, Health, and Light of mind,
Pledge of Resurrection see,
Hope of Immortality.
9 Give us penitential Love,
Give us Faith to feed on Thee ;
Send Thy Spirit from above,
That we, Lord, may welcomed be,
When from earthly toils released,
At Thy Heavenly Marriage-Feast.
10 Glory to the Father give,
Glory give to God the Son,
Who has died that we might live
And with God in Him be one :
Glory to the Spirit be,
Glory everlastingly. AMEN.
45. GOOD FRIDAY.
The Atonement. Man's state, before and after Christ's Passion,
compared*
1 MANKIND in Adam fell
From God, and peace has none ;
Who can the enmity dispel,
And Man with God make one ?
2 The race of Adam lies
Beneath a load of guilt ;
Who can provide a sacrifice P
What blood for man be spilt ?
3 Who can for all men plead,
And Intercessor be ?
Who, Lord, can help in time of need —
Our Advocate with Thee ?
4 The race of Adam lies
In pain and sickness sore ;
The malady man's art defies ;
Who can their health restore ?
5 The race of Adam lies
In prison and in woe ; ,
Who can enable them to rise,
And liberty bestow P
6 The race of Adam lies
Far from Thy presence driven ;
Who can recover Paradise,
And lift us up to Heaven ?
7 The sons of Adam lie
Exposed to Thy just ire ;
Who can Thine anger pacify,
And save from penal fire ?
4 The Hymn above, No. 26, the latter part, and other Hymns above
from No. 37, in whole or in part, may be used on this day.
Good Friday ; Christ' s Cross and Passion. 295
8 Thy holy Law demands
Obedience to Thy will ;
Who can accomplish Thy commands,
And all Thy Law fulfil ?—
9 CHBIST, very God and Man,
Giving Himself to die.
As Man, He for us suffer can ;
As God, can satisfy.
10 CHBIST, very God and Man,
Doth God and Man make one ;
God with us, our EMMANUEL, can
For all Mankind atone.
11 THOU our Redeemer art,
From guilt Thou dost release ;
Thou, dying LORD, dost Life impart,
And Pardon, Health, and Peace.
12 To Thee, O Lord, we flee,
Our Helper in distress ;
Our Bock, we hide ourselves in Thee,
" The LOBD our RIGHTEOUSNESS." AMEN.
PAET II.
13 We fell by Adam's sin,
And died by his offence ;
New life to us, new joys begin
From CHBIST'S obedience.
14 In Thee, O Lord, we rise;
Through Thee we are forgiven ;
By Thee we enter Paradise ;
By Thee we mount to Heaven.
15 Faith, in Thy Cross of shame,
An Altar, Lord, espies,
Where bleeds a Victim free from blume,
A spotless Sacrifice.
16 Faith sees the Shepherd there,
Sees Him in death asleep,
Beholds Him on His shoulders bear
Mankind, His long-lost sheep.
17 There Thou with outstretch'd Hands
Dost all the World embrace ;
In Thee Man does what God commands,
And sees with joy His face.
PAET III.
18 Thy Cross a Trophy is,
With glorious spoils array 'd,
Torn i'rom our ghostly enemies,
Triumphantly display'd.5
5 Col. ii. 15.
296 Miscellanies.
\ 9 Thy Cross a Banner is,
A glorious sign unf url'd ;
A Raft upon the flood's abyss,
Saving a shipwreck'd World.
20 The Cross a Chariot is,
A Car of victory,
Where Christ the Conqueror rides to bliss
Up to His Palace high.
21 There by Death's second birth
To endless life He springs ;
And carries us to heaven from earth,
Like eaglets on His wings.
22 The Cross, it is a Throne,
On which He reigns as King ;
His Might the Powers of darkness own,
He plucks from Death its sting.
23 O wondrous, wondrous Love,
That God the Lord most High
Should stoop to earth from heaven above,
For guilty man to die !
24 0 therefore praise the Lord,
The Father and the Son,
For Peace proclaim'd, for Heaven restored,
For glorious Victory won !
25 0 praise the Holy Ghost,
Praise to One God be given,
By Man, and by the Angel Host,
By Earth, and Sea, and Heaven ! AMEN.
46. EASTER EVEN.*
The blessed Best of the Grave.
1 UPON the sixth day of the week
The first Man had his birth,
In God's own image bright and pure
Created from the earth :
2 Christ on the sixth day of the week,
Our Second Adam, died,
And by our Second Adam's Death
We were revivified.
8 Upon the seventh day of the week
God from His work did rest,
And on that holy Sabbath-Day
The works of God were blest :
4 Upon the seventh day of the week
Christ in the Grave did rest ;
The Grave is now a holy place,
A Sabbath for the blest.
Parts of Hymns Nos. 116 and 123 may also be used.
Easter Even — Easter Day. 297
5 By tasting the forbidden Tree
Man fell in Paradise ;
And on the Tree Christ tasted Death,
And by His Death we rise.
6 Christ in a Garden buried lay,
Which spring-flowers did adorn ;
And there our Resurrection bloom'd
On the bright Easter Morn.
7 The Grave itself a Garden is,
Where loveliest flowers abound ;
Since Christ, our never-fading Life,
Sprang from that holy ground.
8 Christ by the Spirit once was born
Pure from the Virgin's womb,
And by the Spirit was again
Born from the Virgin Tomb.
9 0 give us grace to die to sin,
That we, 0 Lord, may have
A holy, happy Best in Thee,
A Sabbath in the Grave.
10 Thou, Lord, baptiz'd in Thine own blood,
And buried in the Grave,
Didst raise Thyself to endless life,
Omnipotent to save.
11 Baptiz'd into Thy death we died,
And buried were with Thee,
That we might live with Thee to God,
And ever blest may be.
12 Lord, through the Grave and gate of Death
May we, with Thee, arise
To an eternal Easter- Day
Of glory in the skies ! AMEN.
47. EASTER.
\ -
1 HALLELUJAH ! Hallelujah ! Hearts to heaven and voices raise ;
Sing to God a hymn of gladness, sing to God a hymn of praise ;
He Who on the Cross a Victim for the World's salvation bled,
JESUS CHBIST, the King of Glory, now is risen from the dead.
2 Now the iron bars are broken, Christ from death to life is born,
Glorious life, and life immortal, on the holy Easter Morn :
Christ has triumph'd and we conquer by His mighty enterprise,
We with Him to Life eternal by His Resurrection rise.
3 Christ is risen, Christ the First-fruits of the holy Harvest-field,
Which will all its full abundance at His Second Coming yield ;
When the golden ears of Harvest will their heads before Him wave,
Ripen'd by His glorious sunshine from the furrows of the Grave.
7 The three following Hymns, Nos. 48, 49, 50, may also be used on this
day ; and during Easter Week, also 116 and 123.
298 Miscellanies.
4 Christ is risen ; We are risen. Shed upon us heavenly grace,
llain and dew and gleams of glory from the brightness of Thy Face,
That we, with our hearts in Heaven, here on earth may fruitful be,
And by Angel-hands be gather'd, and be ever, Lord, with Thee.
5 Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! Glory be to God on high,
Hallelujah ! to the Saviour, Who has gain'd the victory ;
Hallelujah ! to the Spirit, Fount of Love and Sanctity ;
Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! to the Triune Majesty ! AMEN.
48. EASTER
1 LOED, Thy glorious Resurrection
Is a fallen World's erection,
Man in Thee is glorified ;
Bliss for which the Patriarchs panted,
Joys by holy psalmists chanted,
Now in Thee are verified.
2 Oracles of former ages,
Veil'd in dim prophetic pages,
Now lie open to the sight ;
Now the Types, which glimmer'd darkling
In the twilight gloom, are sparkling
In the blaze of noonday light.
3 Isaac from the wood is risen ;
Joseph issues from the prison :
See the Paschal Lamb which saves ;
Israel through the sea is landed,
Pharaoh and his hosts are stranded,
And are whelmed in the waves.
4 See the cloudy Pillar leading,
Rock refreshing, Manna feeding ;
Joshua fights and Moses prays ;
See the lifted Wave-sheaf, cheering
Pledge of Harvest-fruits appearing,
Joyful dawn of happy days.
6 Samson see at night uptearing
Gaza's brazen gates, and bearing
Tow'rd the top of Hebron's hill ;
Jonah comes from stormy surges,
From his three-days' grave emerges,
Bids beware of coming ill.
6 Thus Thy Resurrection's glory
Sheds a light on ancient story ;
And it casts a forward ray,
Beacon-light of solemn warning,
To the dawn of that great Morning
Ushering in the Judgment Day.
7 Ever since Thy Death and Rising
Thou the Nations art baptizing
In Thy Death's similitude ;
Dead to sin, and ever dying,
And our members mortifying,
May we walk with life renew 'd !
Walk to Emmaus. 299
8 Forth from Thy first Easter going
Sundays are for ever flowing
Onward to a boundless sea ;
Lord, may they for Thee prepare us,
On a holy river bear us
To a calm Eternity !
9 Glory be to God the Father,
And to Him who all does gather
In Himself, the Eternal Son,
And the dead to life upraises ;
And to Holy Ghost be praises ;
Glory to the Three in One. AMEN.
49. MONDAY IN EASTER WEEK.
The Walk of the two Disciples with Christ to Emmaus on the evening
of His Resurrection: see the Gospel for this Day.
1 WHEN two Friends on Easter-day
To Emmaus bent their way,
On that Paschal-eventide
Christ was walking at their side :
And their hearts within them glow'd
When Himself to them He show'd
In the Scriptures as a King
Glorified by suffering.
2 Thou art ever with us, Lord,
Walking in Thy Holy Word ;
And Thy Voice, O Saviour dear,
In that Holy Word we hear ;
What the holy Prophets meant
In the Ancient Testament,
Thou art opening to our view,
Lord, for ever in the New.
3 And we, Lord, Thy presence feel
When we at Thy Table kneel ;
When we feed upon Thee there,
We too at Emmaus are ;
Then our eyes are opened
In the " breaking of the Bread ; "
Faith Thee alway present sees
In Thy holy Mysteries.
4 Though not kenn'd by carnal eye,
Yet we know Thee ever nigh ;
Though Thou art much further gone,8
Even to Thy heavenly Throne,
Yet we, Lord, behold Thy face
Beaming in Thy means of Grace :
There Thou walkest by our side,
There with us Thou dost abide.
8 See Luke xxiv. 28.
300 Miscellanies.
5 Be with us in weal and woe
As we on our journey go ;
Be with us in every stage
Of our earthly pilgrimage ;
And in death's dark eventide
May we see Thee at our side ;
And when we arise, may we
Live for ever, Lord, with Thee ! AMEBT.
50. TUESDAY IN EASTER
" Jesus said unto her (Mary Magdalene), Touch, Me not, for lam not yet
ascended to My Father." John xx. 17.
1 " TOUCH Me not," to Mary said
JESUS risen from the dead ;
" For as yet I am not gone
Upward to My heavenly Throne ;
Quit Me, bid My brethren know
To My God and theirs I go."
2 Not, 0 Lord, on earth art Thou
Present to our eye-sight now ;
But with yearnings of our love
Cling we to Thee thron'd above ;
Faith Thee sees in Heaven stand,
Faith there clasps Thee with her hand.
3 We with hearts and minds arise,
Touching Thee above the skies ;
Lord, we touch Thee offering there
Incense of prevailing prayer ;
Pleading in Thy Father's eyes
Thine atoning sacrifice.
4 Give us grace to touch aright,
Live by faith, and not by sight ;
So, when earthly storms are o'er,
May we reach the peaceful shore,
And Thy heavenly Glory see,
Dwelling evermore with Thee ! AMEN.
51. FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
Christ's commands to St. Thomas and to Mary Magdalene compared.
1 THE wounds which Jesus once endured
Were stigmas of His shame ;
But now they have for Him procured
An everlasting name.
2 The nail-prints and the lance's scar,
The work of fell despite,
His bright triumphal trophies are,
And badges of His Might.
9 Hymn 12 may also be used.
. Thomas and St. Mary Magdalene. 30 1
3 " Behold these hands : at My command
Touch them," the Saviour cried ;
" Reach hither, Thomas, reach thy hand,
And thrust it in My side."
4 Thomas obey'd the Saviour's word ;
" My Lord and God," he said ;
He own'd his Master and his Lord,
And to his GOD he pray'd.
5 0 mighty Conqueror of the Grave !
To Thee be endless Praise
For all the proofs Thy Mercy gave
That Thou Thyself didst raise.
6 With Thee, 0 Lord, we upward tend,
"With Thee Thy Members rise ;
In Thine Ascension we ascend
To realms above the skies.
7 Praise, for the proofs that we receive
Through Thomas, Lord, from Thee ;
He doubted, that we might believe,
And never doubtful be.
8 Praise also, for the lesson taught
To our fond human love,
When Thou didst raise a woman's thought
From earth to Heaven above :
9 " Touch me not, Mary, for as yet
I am not upward gone ;
But touch Me when I shall be set
Upon My heavenly Throne."
10 Through Thomas we Thy Manhood know ;
And through the Magdalene
We learn to touch, while here below,
Thy Deity unseen. AMEN.
52, SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER*
Christ as our Sacrifice for Sin, and also our Example of godly life ;
see the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for the Week.
1 ELISHA'S servant and his staff
Could not the Child revive ; 2
But when to him Elisha came,
The Child by him did live.
2 The holy Prophet stretch'd his limbs
Upon that little child ;
And soon the child wax'd warm with life
And on his Mother smiled.
1 This Hymn was suggested by a Sermon of St. Augustine. The
Hymn above, No. 14, and below, No. 65, may also be used.
2 Kings iv. 29—31.
302 Miscellanies.
3 0 Lord, the staff of Moses' Law,
Which Thou didst send before,
Declared Thy will, and show'd our death,
But could not life restore ;
4 But CHRIST our great ELISHA came ;
And to our narrow span
He did contract His Deity,
And God drew near to Man.
5 God did in Christ the cold poor limbs
Of our low World embrace,
God, joined to Man in Christ, revived
Our dead and fallen race.
G Thou, coming down from Heaven to us,
Didst life by Death impart ;
And Thou, 0 Lord, in life and death
Our perfect Pattern art.
7 0 ye, who would for ever live
With Christ in heavenly bliss,
Conformed to His Example be,
Let your mind be like His.
8 Stoop down, contract thyself, 0 Pride,
Become a little Child ;
Be like to Him Who lowly was,
Meek, guileless, undefiled.
9 Take up thy cross, and in Christ's way
O let thy feet be set
Through Vale of low Gethsemane
To heavenly Olivet.
10 Glory to God the Father be,
Who sent His only Son ;
Praise to the Son, and Holy Ghost ;
Eternal Three in One. AMEN.
53. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.3
The Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, the type of Christ, the passage of
the Red Sea, and the Victory of the Israelites over their enemies the
Egyptians (figurative of the Triumph achieved for all true Israelites
by the Death and Resurrection of Christ), having been commemorated
at Easter, the Church proceeds in her Proper Lessons for the Season
to set before us the precepts and warnings derived from the History
of the Israelites, especially in the delivery of the. Law, and in the
divine judgments upon Korah and his company (Numb, xvi.), and
upon those who were seduced by Balaam tempting to Idolatry and
fleshly lusts (Numb, xxv.) ; and she inculcates the doctrines and
warnings thence derived, in the Collect for this Week, and in the
Epistle : " Dearly Beloved,! besceech you as strangers and pilgrims,
abstain from fleshly lusts." 1 Pet. ii. 11.
1 SAVED by Thy Blood, the Red Sea pass'd,
Our Foes o'erthrown by Thee,
Strangers in this world's Wilderness,
And Pilgrims, Lord, are we.
8 The Hymn below, No. 72, may also be used.
Earthly pilgrimage to Heavenly Canaan. 303
2 But Thou art with with us ; in the night
Thy shining Pillar leads ;
In scorching sands Thy streams refresh,
Thy heavenly Manna feeds.
3 Thy Church, 0 Saviour, holds the Law
By Thy dread Godhead given,
Preaches Thy Word, and taught by Thee
Dispenses Grace from Heaven.
4 Therefore, though Korah should gainsay,
Thy Priesthood we revere ;
And dread the doom of those who, Lord,
Uncall'd, to Thee come near.
5 Though Balaam eloquently preach,
And gladly greet Thy day,
Yet him we shun, if he allures
Thy flock from Thee to stray.
6 0 keep us far from fleshly lusts ;
Tor, cleansed, O Lord, by Thee,
Strangers in this world's wilderness
And Pilgrims here are we ;
7 Obedient to Thy will, 0 Lord,
And by Thy bounty blest,
So may we reach our Promised LanJ,
The Canaan of our Rest !
8 Glory to God our Father give,
Glory to God the Son,
Glory to God the Holy Ghost ;
Eternal Three in One. AMEN.
54. FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.
The History of the Delivery of God's Law from Mount Sinai in the
wilderness, in the Lessons of the Season, accompanied with the appli
cation made in the admonition of the Christian Apostle St. James, in
the Epistles of those two Sundays, " Be ye doers of the word, and not
hearers only."
The period of the Forty Years' Sojourn nfthe Israelites in the wilder
ness, after the Passover and the passage of the Red Sea, and before
the entrance into Canaan, the type of heaven, is happily associated
by the Church with this season of Forty Days between our Lord's
Resurrection and His Ascension into the heavenly Jerusalem ; and
is made the occasion and groundwork of admonition to the Christian
in his own course, from his Baptism into Christ's Death and Resur
rection, and in his pilgrimage through this world to the heavenly
Canaan of his rest and joy.
1 FATHER of Lights ! to Thee we pray,
Guide us and cheer us on our way ;
Lift up Thy countenance divine,
And on our heavenward journey shine :
The joys of Earth are brief and vain,
Its radiant sunbeams quickly wane,
304 Miscellanies.
Thy Light no change or shadow knows,
But with eternal splendour glows.*
2 Thou, Lord, Who didst on Sinai's hill
In cloud and thunder speak Thy will,
And didst with Thine Almighty hand
Engrave on stone Thy dread command ;
Write now the Law which Love imparts
Upon the tables of our hearts ;
With Thy free Spirit us inspire,
Cheer us with light, and warm with fire.
3 No Mirror — where with flickering ray
The evanescent shadows play —
No — but a faithful Chart, 0 Lord,
To us is Thine unerring Word ;
There with eyes liveted we trace
The roads and rivers of Thy Grace,
Which bear the pilgrim on his way
To realms of everlasting day.
4 Help us with faith Thy Word to read,
And in our lives show forth our Creed ;
Like Christ to visit in distress
The widow and the fatherless ;
Not by the lures of sin beguiled,
Not by the stains of sin defiled ;
But walking in the light of love
To Thy Jerusalem above. AMEN.
55. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER, or the SUNDAY
BEFORE THE ASCENSION.
Christ, about to ascend into heaven, promises to send the Comforter
after His Ascension; see the Gospel of the foregoing Week.
1 THOTT bidd'st us " visit in distress s
The Widow and the Fatherless ; "
And wilt Thou leave us comfortless ? *
Wilt Thou depart ?
2 Wilt Thou, O Lord, Thy Church forsake ?
Must she a Widow's garments take ?
Wilt Thou Thy children Orphans make ?
Oh grief of heart !
3 No : Christ will visit in distress
The Widow and the Fatherless ;
Seeming to leave you comfortless
He loves you most.
4 For He departs that He may send
Another Comforter and Friend,
To tarry with you till the end ;
The Holy Ghost.
4 See James i. 17, part of the Epistle of the Week.
b James i. 27. The Epistle for the Week.
6 " Orphans " in the original, John xiv. 18.
Promise of the Comforter — Rogation Days. 305
5 At Thy first Birth, Thou, Lord, didst wait,
And Forty Days from it didst date,
And then Thy Sion's Temple-gate
Did welcome Thee ; 7
6 Old age 8 with joy saw Thee appear,
And Widowhood 9 found comfort there ;
Perhaps the Doves l then offer 'd were
A Prophecy.
7 The Fortieth from Thy second Birth
To endless life from womb of Earth
Will be a Day of joy and mirth
In realms above ;
8 For now Thy earthly course will end,
To Sion's gates Thou wilt ascend,
To be our great High Priest, and send
The heavenly Dove.
9 Why then this sorrow and dismay ?
'Tis good that He should go away ;
He goes before, for you to pray,
And never cease ;
10 He goes as Man, that you may see
By Faith His present Deity,
And here the Comforter may be,
To give you peace.
11 Therefore to Father praises be,
To Son, and, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Praise to One God eternally,
And Persons Three. AMEN.
56. ROGATION DAYS, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before
the ASCENSION ; see Hymn 124 for Missions; and Hymn 130.
1 FATHER, we humbly pray
To Thee in whom we live ;
Our countless sins, for Jesu's sake,
Forgive, 0 Lord, Forgive.
2 We have unthankful been
For all Thy tender care ;
Thy righteous anger we deserve ;
But Spare, O Father, Spare.
3 The creatures of Thy Hand
Made for Thy Glory are ;
But we Thy creatures have abused ;
Spare us, 0 Father, Spare.
7 At Christ's Presentation in the Temple, forty days after His Nativity.
Luke ii. 22—27.
8 In Simeon, at Christ's Presentation in the Temple. Luke ii. 25.
9 In Anna. Luke ii. 27. l Luke ii. 24.
VOL. II. X
306 Miscellanies.
4 From Plague and Pestilence,
From Famine, Fire, and Sword,
From Storm and Flood, from Dearth and Drought,
Deliver us, O Lord.
5 From hard and stubborn hearts,
Scorning Thy holy Word,
From Discord, Strife, and Heresy,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
6 With genial rains and dews
Temper the circling year,
With golden sunshine and fresh breeze ;
Hear us, 0 Father, hear.
7 Sheepfolds and Garners till,
The Homestead and the Stall ;
Orchards and Gardens crown with Fruits,
Maker and Lord of all !
8 Love in our households breathe,
Hearts ready to obey
As in Thy sight, and as to Thee,
Give us, 6 Lord, we pray.
9 Bless, Lord, Thy Holy Church,
With heavenly graces bless,
That it may flourish and abound
In love and godliness.
10 Bless, Lord, our gracious Queen,
With Thy best bounties bless ;
Grant her a long and glorious Reign
In peace and quietness.
11 Bishops and Clergy bless ;
Holy and grave and wise,
Faithful and zealous may they be
In all their ministries.
12 Our ancient Minsters bless,
Where deep-toned organs peal ;
And Village-Churches among trees,
Where peaceful peasants kneel.
13 Our Schools of Learning bless,
Our Colleges and Halls ;
May Piety and Wisdom dwell
Alway within their walls.
14 Counsel in Senates give,
Justice and Law maintain ;
And make Contentment in all hearts
And Loyalty to reign.
15 Our Fleets and Annies bless
With Courage from on high ;
And in all just and righteous wars
Give them the Victory.
Rogation Days — Ascension Day. 307
16 The Widow desolate,
The Children fatherless,
All who in grief and sorrow are,
Comfort, 0 Lord, and bless.
17 The erring and in sin,
All, Lord, who from Thee stray,
Bring them 0 bring them back again
To Thy most holy Way.
18 All who to heathen climes
Go forth and preach Thy Word,
Bearing glad tidings of good things,
Speed them and help them, Lord.
19 May all who sit in gloom
Thy glorious light behold,
One Faith, one Lord and Father own,
One Shepherd, and one Fold !
20 So may we all with Christ
To highest heaven ascend,
And Hallelujahs sing to Thee
For ages without end ! AMEN.
57- ASCENSION DAY?
1 SEE the Conqueror mounts in triumph, see the King in royal state,
Eiding on the clouds His chariot, to His Heavenly Palace-gate ;
Hark, the quires of angel voices joyful HALLELUJAHS sing,
And the portals high are lifted, to receive their heavenly King.
2 Who is this that comes in glory, with the trump of jubilee ?
Lord of battles, God of armies, He has gain'd the victory ;
He Who on the Cross did suffer, He Who from the grave arose,
He has vanquish'd Sin and Satan, He by death has spoil'd His foes.
3 While He lifts His hands in blessing, He is parted from His friends ;
While their eager eyes behold Him, He upon the clouds ascends ;
He who walk'd with God and pleas'd Him, preaching truth and doom
to come,
Christ, our Enoch, is translated to His everlasting home.
4 Now our heavenly Aaron enters with His blood within the veil ;
Now our Joshua comes to Canaan., and the kings before him quail ;
Now He plants the tribes of Israel in their promised resting-place ;
Now our great Elijah offers double portion of His grace.
5 THOU hast raised our human nature on the clouds to God's right hand,
There we sit in heavenly places, there with Thee in glory stand ;
JESUS reigns, adored by Angels ; Man with God is on the Throne;
Mighty Lord, in Thine Ascension we by faith behold our own.
6 Holy Ghost, Illuminator, shed Thy beams upon our eyes,
Help us to look up with Stephen, and to see beyond the skies
Where the Son of Man in glory standing is at God's right hand,
Beckoning on His Martyr army, succouring His faithful band.
2 The Hymn above. No. 37, may also be used at this season.
x 2
3o8
Miscellanies.
7 See Him Who is gone before us heavenly mansions to prepare,
See Him Who is ever pleading for us with prevailing prayer ;
See Him Who with sound of trumpet and with His angelic train
Summoning the World to Judgment on the clouds will come again.
8 Raise us, Lord, from earth to heaven ; give us wings of faith and love,
Gales of holy aspirations wafting us to realms ahove ;
That with hearts and minds uplifted we with Thee our King may
dwell,
Where Thou sittest thron'd in glory in Thy heavenly Citadel ;
9 So at last, when Thou appearest, we from out our graves may spring,
With our youth renew'd like eagles, flocking round our heavenly King,
Caught up on the clouds of heaven, and may meet Thee in the air,
Rise to realms where Thou art reigning, and may reign for ever there.
10 Glory be to God the Father, Glory be to God the Son,
Dying, ris'n, ascending for us, Who the heavenly realm has won ;
Glory to the Holy Spirit ; to One God in Persons Three
Glory both in earth and heaven, glory, endless glory, be ! AMEN.
58. SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY?
Christ ascended into heaven in order that " we might have a strong con
solation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold, on the Hope set before
us," (as an Anchor laid out by a rope from a ship,) " which Hope
we have as an Anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast, and which
entereth into that within the veil, whither the Forerunner is for its
entered, even Jesus." Heb. vi. 18 — 20.
1 ON the dark billows of the world
Distrest by storms are we ;
Toss'd in a weather-beaten bark,
Upon a troubled sea.
2 0 Lord, the Vessel of Thy Church
Now rides upon the wave,
And now with sudden plunge it seems
To founder in the grave.
3 But wherefore should we fear, since Thou
Art now gone up on high ;
And sittest on Thy heavenly throne
In glorious Majesty?
4 The Night and Day, 0 Lord, are Thine ;
The Sea obeys Thy will ;
The Waves which rise at Thy command
At Thy command are still.
5 We have an Anchor ; other ships
Are anchor'd in the sea ;
We, Lord, a surer Anchor have —
Our Anchor is in Thee.
s The Hymn above, No. 37, may also be used.
Sunday after Ascension — Whitsunday. 309
6 With downward cables other ships
On earthly hopes depend ;
But we, who safer moorings have,
A heavenward line extend.
7 Through the bright ether's liquid sea
That viewless line ascends,
By Thine Ascension borne to Heaven
Fix'd on Thy Throne it ends.
8 By it we firmly anchor'd are
In deep tranquillity ;
And with tenacious grasp of Faith
We cling by it to Thee.
9 Therefore, though Tempests round us rage,
Our Vessel safely rides ;
Beneath the surge of fiercest seas
A crystal calm abides.
10 With patience, Lord, we wait on Thee
For succour in distress ;
On Thee we wait, to Thee we pray,
Leave us not comfortless ;
11 But send us, Lord, the Holy Ghost,
To fill our languid sails,
And waft us onward in our course
With His propitious gales ;
12 So when our earthly Voyage is done,
And all our labours cease,
In the calm haven we may rest
Of everlasting peace. AMEN.
59. WHITSUNDAY*
1 WHEN the Lord of Hosts ascended
To His heavenly citadel,
Soon the Holy Ghost descended,
Sent by Him with men to dwell ;
Sign of Christ's Inauguration
In the Kingdom of His Power.
Largess of His Coronation,
Royal Bounty, promised Dower.
2 When the faithful were assembled
On the Day of Pentecost,
Wind it rush'd, the place it trembled,
Came from heav'n the Holy Ghost ;
Golden shower of consecration,
Tongues of fire were on them shed ;
And that holy dedication
Made an altar of each head.
4 The Hymns below, Nos. 60, 61, and above, No. 30, may also be used.
3 1 o Miscellanies.
3 With his sickle each Apostle
Whitening fields goes forth to reap :
And the festive pentecostal
Harvest-Home of souls they keep ; 5
God with holy flame from heaven
Writes on hearts the law of Love ; *
Jubilee 7 of sins forgiven
Sounds its trumpet from above.
4 Holy Ghost, Divine Creator,
Who didst on the waters move ;
Holy Ghost, Regenerator,
Author of all life and love ;
Holy Ghost, Illuminator,
Thou Who didst with fire baptize ;
Holy Ghost, Great Renovator,
Come, the World evangelize !
5 Not in fire from heav'n descending,
Not in earthquake, nor in shower,
Not in wind the mountains rending,
Now, 0 Lord, we seek Thy Power ;
But in holy aspirations
Do we seek and find Thee, Lord,
And in quiet meditations
On Thy everlasting Word.
6 With the kneeling congregation
Thou art in the House of Prayer ;
Laver of Regeneration
Is o'ershadow'd by Thee there ;
Thou dost shed at Confirmation
From Thy wing a Gift of Grace ;
Eucharistic Celebration
Has revealings of Thy Face.
7 Guide of erring, go before us ;
Breeze in heat, refresh our soul ;
Shed Thy genial lustre o'er us ;
Balm of sickness, make us whole ;
In the hour of trouble hear us ;
After labour give repose ;
In the days of sorrow cheer us ;
Guard in danger from our foes.
8 Strengthen, warm, and purify us ;
From the bands of sin release ;
Comfort, counsel, sanctify us ;
Give us love, and joy, and peace ;
5 The Feast of Pentecost introduced the Wheat Harvest.
8 The Law of Moses was given on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the
Passover.
7 The Fiftieth year was the year of Jubilee ; so Pentecost, or the
Fiftieth day, introduced the Christian Jubilee, when the Apostles began
to preach Remission of Sins to all Nations.
Whitsuntide : Babel and Sion. 3 1 1
Faith, and hope, and resignation
Breathe upon us with Thy Breath ;
Give us heavenly consolation
In the solemn hour of death.
9 So when Earth with fruit aboundeth,
And shall Angel Reapers see,
And the great Archangel soundeth
God's eternal Jubilee,
We may join their gratulation,
And to Father and to Son
And to Spirit, adoration
Ever give, blest Three in One.
AMEN.
60. MONDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK.
Contrast of the building of Babel with that of the Christian Sion, built
up by the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, as seen in the First Lesson of
the Day, and in the Services of the Season.
1 ONCE all the Nations were as one,
And all did speak one speech ;
But Pride said, " Come, and build a Tower
Whose top to Heaven may reach."
2 To see that City and the Tower,
Which men did build, God came ;
Scatter'd the builders, blasts the work ;
Confusion 8 is its name.
3 Another Tower and City now
. Is builded, Lord, by Thee ;
Thy Sion, not uprear'd by Pride,
But by Humility.
4 Exalted by Thy lowliness
Thou art to Glory gone ;
The SPIRIT to the Builders' Thou
Dost send, to make them One.
5 One Lord, One Faith, One Fount of grace,
Thy Holy City knows ;
And thence One Gospel in the streams
Of every Language flows.
6 Give us the Holy Spirit, Lord ;
No pride nor strife be ours ;
Not Babel-builders may we be,
But strengthen Sion's towers.
7 So may we in Thy Sion dwell,
Jerusalem above ;
Where but one Language will be heard,
And that one Language, Love.
Babel means confusion. Gen. xi. 9.
3 1 2 Miscellanies.
8 With joyful song and jubilee
This holy time we greet ; .
Praising the Father, and the Son,
And Heavenly Paraclete. AMEN.
61. TUESDAY IN WHITSUN WEEK?
The Holy Spirit is sovereign and free in His operations, and the Giver
of all Spiritual Gifts, as is declared in the Proper Lesson for yes
terday (1 Cor. xii.) ; and not tied to any particular place, as is
shown in the First Lesson of yesterday evening by the history oj
Eldad and Medad (Numb. xi. 24 — 30) ; nor confined to particular
persons, but sometimes is given to evil men, as in the case of Saul
(1 Sam. xix. 18 — 24) ; and His gifts may be abused by those who
hare them (1 Cor. xiv.) ; and the true characteristics of the profit
able use of His gifts are Love and tendency to edification, as is
shotvn in that Lesson, and also in the Second Lesson for this Even
ing (1 John iv.). Thus, while the Independence, Omnipotence, and
Loving -Icindness of the Holy Spirit are manifested, it follows afso,
that, although Almighty God be not tied to any special means for
the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, yet, since He has been pleased to
institute and prescribe certain regular means for the conveyance oj
His grace to us, which are pointed out in the Second Lesson for
this Morning (1 Thess. v. 12 — 24), and in the Epistle of this Day,
concerning the Apostolic rite of Confirmation (Acts viii. 14 — 17), ice
are bound to use those means for the reception of Divine Grace,
which we derive through the means from Him Who instituted the
means, and Who is pleased to work by them.
\ NOT bound by chains, nor pent in cells,
Of person or of place,
But like the air, untrammell'd blow
The breezes of Thy Grace.
2 Not only Moses in the cloud
With heavenly flame was fired ;
Eldad and Medad in the camp
Were, Lord, by Thee inspired.
3 A Balaam and a Caiaphas
May prophesy of Thee ;
Saul also may, though David's foe,
Among the Prophets be.
4 Not Prophecy, nor Tongues, nor Faith
That mountains could remove,
Will profit him who has those gifts,
Without the grace of Love.
5 As Beacons fade, though some may live
Saved by their guiding ray,
So he who does to others preach
May be a cast-away.
9 Tie Hymn for Quinquagesima (above No. 30) may also be used at this
season.
Whitsuntide — Trinity Sunday. 313
6 The Spirit is not tied to means,
But sovereign is a ad free ;
But when Thou hast prescribed the means,
Tied to those means are we.
7 No Pharpars or Ahanas, Lord,
To Jordan we prefer ;
But in Thy order 'd means of Grace
We seek the Comforter.
8 We love the means, for they are Thine,
Which heavenly life impart ;
They channels are through which it flows,
But Thou the Fountain art.
9 The vessel of our thirsting hearts
To Thee in them we bring ;
0 grant us, Lord, in Heaven to drink
Of Thine Eternal spring !
10 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God and Persons Three,
For gifts of grace, and hopes of bliss,
All praise and glory be. AMEN.
HYMN for EMBER DATS, being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
after Whitsunday ; see below, No 120.
62. TRINITY
Hymn to the Blessed Trinity.
1 HOLT, HOLT, HOLT, Lord,
God of Hosts, Eternal King,
By the heavens and earth ador'd ;
Angels and Archangels sing,
Chanting everlastingly,
To the Blessed Trinity.
2 Since by Thee were all things made,
And in Thee do all things live,
Be to Thee all honour paid,
Praise to Thee let all things give,
Singing everlastingly
To the Blessed Trinity.
3 Thousands, tens of Thousands, stand,
Spirits blest, before the Throne,
Speeding thence at Thy command,
And, when Thy behests are done,
Singing everlastingly
To the Blessed Trinity.
1 The Hymn above, No. 3, may also be used.
314 Miscellanies.
4 Cherubim and Seraphim
Veil their faces with their wings ;
Eyes of Angels are too dim
To behold the King of Kings,
While they sing eternally
To the Blessed Trinity.
5 Thee Apostles, Prophets Thee,
Thee the noble Martyr band,
Praise with solemn jubilee;
Thee the Church in every land,
Singing everlastingly
To the Blessed Trinity.
6 In Thy Name baptiz'd are we,
With Thy Blessing are dismiss'd ;
And Thrice-Holy chant to Thee
In the sacred Eucharist ;
Life is one Doxology
To the Blessed Trinity.
7 To the Father, and the Son
Who for us vouchsafed to die,
And to God the Holy One
Who the Church doth sanctify,
Sing we with glad jubilee,
Hallelujah ! Lord, to Thee.
8 Hallelujah ! Lord, to Thee,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ;
Godhead One, and Persons Three ;
Join us with the heavenly Host,
Singing everlastingly
To the Blessed Trinity ! AMEN.
63. FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.*
The intermediate state (i. e. the state of the soul after death, and before
the Resurrection of the Hody and the Day of Judgment) as revealed
by our Lord in the Gospel of the Week.
1 WHEN from the body freed by death, '
And from this world of woe,
The spirit of the just departs, —
Then whither does it go ?
2 The soul of Lazarus, who lay
Sick, destitute, forlorn,
To Abraham's Bosom went at death,3
On wings of Angels borne.
3 The soul of him * that pray'd in death
To Christ with tears and cries,
Went from the cross on that same day
With Christ to Paradise.
• Parts of Hymns 46 and 116 may also be used.
3 Luke xvi. 22. * The penitent thief, Luke xxiii. 43.
The Intermediate State — Joshiids History. 3 1 5
4 In Abraham's bosom faithful souls
Of every age are blest,
And at a holy banquet there
Refreshment find, and rest.
5 And Paradise a Garden is
Of holy fruits and flowers,
Where faithful souls hold converse sweet,
As in an Eden's bowers.
6 In that fair Garden faithful souls
In- blissful calmness dwell,
Till the last Trumpet shall awake
Each body from its cell.
7 The Father of all spirits then
Will soul and flesh unite,
And bring them both, in glory join'd,
To raptures infinite.
8 Why therefore mourn, as without hope ?
Nay, rather praises give,
For all who have in Jesus died,
Have now begun to live.
9 0 may we so our bodies use,
And so our souls employ,
That Paradise may be our path
To everlasting joy !
10 To Father, and to Son, Who made
The Grave a gate to Heaven,
And to the Blessed Comforter,
Eternal praise be given. AMEN.
64. SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
On the triumphs of Joshua and Deborah as seen in tJie First Lessons
of the Season ; figurative of the Victories of CHRIST.
1 WHEN we the mighty acts of Joshua see,
And conquering arms, we think, 0 LOED, of Thee ;
Kings flee to rocks, but, drawn from their retreat,
Are placed by him beneath his captains' feet ;
His triumph sheds a bright prophetic gleam
Of that great Day, when Thou wilt reign supreme ;
For, KING of Kings and LOED of Lords art Thou ;
And at the Name of JESUS all shall bow.
2 " Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou
Moon, in the vale of Ajalon ! " they bow
At his command. So by the Sovereign Will
Of JESTJS will the Sun and Moon stand still,
Till HE His foes has routed at that Day,
And then the heavens and earth will flee away :
For KING of Kings and LOED of Lords art Thou ;
And at the Name of JESUS all shall bow.
1 6 Miscellanies.
3 When we the valiant acts of Deborah see,
And hear her song, we think, O LORD, of Thee ;
Awake, Awake ! — Thou, Lord, dost courage give ;
Weak are made strong, dead at Thy bidding live ;
Spear, shield, and sword, horse, chariots, vain are all :
By feeble woman's hands proud Siseras fall ;
For Thee with swollen tide old Kishon flows ;
Stars in their courses fight against Thy foes.
4 0 Lord, where'er we in the Scriptures look,
We see Thy triumphs bla/on'd in Thy Book ;
Thou dost Thy servants with Thy love inspire,
And warm Thy soldiers with a Seraph's fire ;
Weak women, wafted onward by Thy breath,
Lead martyrs' lives, and die a martyr's death ;
Whatever great, or good, or fair we see,
0 mighty, loving LORD, we think of Thee. AMEN.
65. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.'
Christ's love for the Lost Sheep, as seen in the Gospel of the Week.
1 0 WONDROUS love, that He, whose bliss
No mortal can conceive,
To seek Mankind, His long-lost sheep,
His heavenly Fold should leave !
2 O wondrous love ! that God's own Son
His soul should deign to give,
That by the Heavenly Shepherd's death
The long-lost sheep might live !
3 Despising shame, foreseeing joy,6
The crown of thorns He wears,
And on the Cross His long-lost sheep
Kaised on His shoulders bears ;
4 Bears it to heaven, in pastures green
That alway it may be,
And near fresh streams, and in His fold
Live everlastingly.
5 0 love the Shepherd of the Sheep,
And hear the Shepherd's voice ;
Then ever with the ninety-nine
Thou, lost one, wilt rejoice.
6 Praise to the Father, and to Him
Who seeks and saves the lost,
Praise, everlasting praise, be given ;
And to the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
4 The Hymn above, No, 67, may also be used.
8 Heb. xii. 2.
The new heavens — Samuel's history. 3 1 7
66. FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY?
The natural world, represented in the Epistle of the Week as travailing
in pain for a more glorious state of existence after the General
Resurrection.
1 0 LORD, how alter'd is the face
Of this World, once so fair !
The lands where Eden's garden bloom'd
Now thorns and thistles bear.
2 The Ground, where once unbidden fruits
Enrich'd the fertile field,
Now hardly will with painful toil
A scanty produce yield.
3 Earth, once made beautiful for man,
Was blighted by his Fall ;
And now with sympathizing grief
Weeps at his funeral.
4 But lo ! the second Adam, Christ,
A blessed hope displays,
That He will Adam's fallen race
To bliss and glory raise.
5 0 Lord, Thy Gospel reaches down
From Man to suffering Earth ;
She travails now in pangs and throes
For that Day's glorious Birth.
C That Birth through Death will raise her up
From sorrow and distress ;
New Heavens and Earth will then be born,
"Where dwelleth righteousness,"8
7 The Heavens and Earth, when cleans'd by fire
From all things that defile,
AVill on that Resurrection's morn
Kise from their funeral pile.
8 Who shall the future glories tell
Of that fair Paradise ?
Where God says little, they who are
Most silent, are most wise.
9 To God Triune be thanks and praise
For what His Word reveals ;
Nor let Him less be glorified
For what that Word conceals. AMEN.
67. FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.9
The history of the prophet Samuel, as presented in the First Lessons
of this Season.
1 O LOED, Who didst a Samuel give
To Hannah's earnest prayers and tears ;
7 The Hymn No. 67 may also be used. 8 2 Pet. iii. 13.
9 The Second Hymn for the First Sunday in Lent, No. 33, referring to
the History of David and Goliath, may also be used, and Hymn 9,
referring to the Gospel.
3 1 8 Miscellanies.
Grant us a fervent heart to pray,
In all our sorrows, hopes, and fears.
2 O Lord, in Whom she did rejoice,
Extolling Thee her God and King ;
Grant us Thy Grace, for all Thy gifts
A glad Magnificat to sing.
3 0 Lord, to "Whom with joyful heart
Hannah her much-loved Samuel gave ;
Grant us Thy grace to bring the best
To Thee from Whom we all things have.
4 Thou at Whose calling he replied,
" Speak, for Thy servant heareth, Lord,"
0 give us ready ears to hear
And willing hearts to do Thy Word.
5 " It is the Lord," ! thus Eli said,
" Hide nothing from me, O my son ; "
So grant us grace in deepest grief
To say, " Thy Will, not mine, be done ! "
6 Will God be pleased with fat of rams ? -
Will He accept them as a price ?
0 grant us ever grace to pay
Obedience, our best sacrifice.
7 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be Prayer and Praise and Thanks addrest ;
O grant us grace to give ourselves
To Thee, and be for ever blest. AMEN.
68. SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
The Christian's Death unto sin, and Resurrection unto life, in the Hoi//
Sacrament of Baptism, as presented in the Epistle of the Week; and
the Christian s prayer for Love, in the Collect of the Week.
1 0 LOVING Jesu, for us crucified,
We who are Thine together with Thee died ;
We, Lord, with Thee were buried in the grave,
When Thy Baptismal Waters us did lave.
2 0 mighty Jesu, Who for us art risen,
We who are Thine then rose from sin's dark prison ;
We by Thy power Death's iron bars did break ;
New life is ours and glory for Thy sake.
3 0 Conqueror Jesu, Who art mounted high,
Bearing with Thee Thy Members to the sky,
Lift us, 0 lift us, in Thy glorious flight,
From Earth to realms of everlasting light.
1 Sam. iii. 17, 18. s 1 Sam. xv. 22.
Faith and Love. 3 1 9
4 0 King of Glory, from Thy Throne above
Who didst the Spirit send of peace and love,
His silver wings a heavenward course will hold,
Give us His wings, and feathers as of gold.
5 0 God Triune, baptized in Thy Name,
"We pray for heavenly light and holy flame,
That firm in Faith, and walking in Thy Love,
We may Thee alway praise in bliss above. AMEN.
69. SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY?
" Neither will I offer burnt Sacrifices unto the Lord my God of that
which doth cost me nothing." 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. 1 Chron. xxi. 24.
1 LOBD, not with poor and paltry gifts,
And costless offerings,
Approach we to Thy Throne of Grace,
Thou King of kings.
2 Salem beheld the Patriarch come
An only Son to slay ;
O make us on Thine altar, Lord,
Our Isaac lay.
3 There David said, " I serve not God
With that which costs me nought ; "
So may our best by us to Thee,
O Lord, be brought.
4 Salem beheld Thy Temple rise
In state magnifical ; *
May we be Temples, Lord, to Thee,
Who givest all.
5 There God the Father gave the Son,
The Son His Life did give,
That we by His most precious Death
Might ever live.
6 0 spare not silver, grudge not gold,
That perishable pelf,
But freely give to Him, who gave
For you Himself.
7 Salem beheld the Holy Ghost
Come down in golden shower ;
What gifts can we present to Him
For that blest dower ?
8 Bring Mary's ointment, Widows' mites
Into God's treasury cast ;
And never with a Judas say,
" Wherefore this waste ? "
3 The Hymn below, No. 126, may also be used.
4 1 Chron. xxii. 5.
3 2 o Miscellanies.
9 So may we like true Israelites
To Thine own Salem come,
And Treasure, House, and Father, have
In Heaven our Home.
10 To God the Father Praises give,
And Praise to God the Son,
0 Praise the Holy Spirit, Praise
The Three in One. AMEN.
70. EIGHTH SUNDA Y AFTER TRINITY.
Disobedience and its punishment, as seen in the history of the Prophet
from Judah, contrasted with Obedience and its rewards, as seen in
the history of the faithful Prophet Elijah, and also of the faithful
Widow of Zarephath, or Sarepta ; and as enforced by our Lord's
words in the Gospel of the Week, " Beware of false Prophets" and
" Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
Kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which
is in heaven."
1 NOT gifts of Prophecy can save,
Nor courage be our stay ;
Lord, make us doers of Thy Word,
0 teach us to obey.
2 If God command thee to abstain
From royal Bethel's fare,
Taste not its food, though Angel hands
Should spread a table there.
3 The obedient Seer5 from Jordan's stream
To trickling Cherith fled ;
Him there the Brook, in time of drought.
And hungry Ravens fed.
4 Go to Zidonian Zarephath,
To Jezebel's domain ;8
Though Zidon's Queen may seek thy life,
A Widow shall sustain.
5 0 "Widow, fear not, but God's Seer
With thy last morsel feed ;
Who, in His Prophets, gives to God,
Shall never suffer need.
6 Thy meal exhaustless is ; to thee
Rivers of oil shall flow ;
Obedience is thine Olive-yard,
Faith harvests can bestow.
7 By Faith and by Obedience
God's best rewards are won ;
Thou dost His Prophet feed, and He
Restores to thee a son.
6 Elijah. 1 Kings xvii. 2, 3. 6 1 Kings xvii. 9.
Elijah. 321
8 Thy pious service is approved
And blest by love divine ;
Widow of Zarephath, thy name
Shall in Christ's Gospel shine.7
9 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
For Faith and Love we pray ;
Thee ever may our voices praise,
And may our hearts obey ! AMEN.
71. History of Elijah the Prophet continued.
1 " THE LOBD is GOD ! the LOED is GOD ! "8
Lord, make us true to Thee,
Make us in courage and in zeal
Like to ELIJAH be !
2 If Thou dost bid us leave our home,
And go to Cherith's rill,
Or Zarephath, O speed us forth
Obedient to Thy will.
3 Help us in dark and evil days
To see Thee ever nigh,
And ever for the Truth to fight
Of God the Lord most High.
4 Though. Baal's Priests four hundred be,
And we be left alone,
Yet on our Carmels let us stand,
And Thee, Thee only, own.
5 " The LOED is GOD ! the LOED is God ! "
The astonish'd people cry,
When water was lick'd up by fire
Down shooting from the sky.
6 And how may hearts by us be moved ?
Where is our strength, 0 where ?
Thou say'st,9 that " righteous men prevail
By earnest fervent prayer."
7 Elijah's prayer revived the Child,
And brought that fire from high,
Elijah's prayer shut up the heaven,
His prayer unseal'd the sky.
8 Not in fierce fires, or furious winds,
Which rocks and mountains tear,1
But in the still small voice art Thou
Of inly -breathing Prayer.
9 0 therefore, give us grace to pray ;
And when beneath the shade
Of Earth's dark junipers we faint,2
Send Angels to our aid.
< Luke iv. 26.
8 The name ELIJAH means " The LOBD is GOD."
9 James v. 16, referring to the prayers of Elijah.
1 See 1 Kings xix. 11, 12. 2 See 1 Kings xix. 5.
VOL. II. Y
322 Miscellanies.
10 Strengthen'd by food of grace divine
May we to Horeb come,
Pilgrims through this world's wilderness
Travelling to Heaven, our home.
11 So, when our earthly race is run,
May we in glory rise,
Caught up to meet our coming Lord,
In chariots of the skies.
12 Transfigur'd 3 on Thy heavenly hill
May we in glory shine,
And ever see Thy blessed face,
And evermore be Thine !
13 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God, in Persons Three,
Dominion, Adoration, Praise,
And Glory, ever be ! AMEN.
72. NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
The Pilgrimage of the Israelites through the Wilderness to Canaan,
represented in the Epistle of the Week, as typical of our Christian
Journey through this world's wilderness to our heavenly Canaan.
1 IN all our wanderings here below
We see Thee, Lord, where'er we go ;
From smitten Rock when waters flow
There Jesus bleeds.
2 Thy Word and Paschal festival,
Thy Church, — we see Thee in them all ;
When showers of Manna round us fall,
Then Jesus feeds.
3 In all the gleams of grace divine
We see Thy holy Presence shine ;
Pillar of Light, and heavenly sign ;
There Jesus leads.
4 Our arm could not from Jesus free ;
In our own strength no hope we see ;
We lean not on ourselves, for we
Are broken reeds.
5 In all our long and weary way,
Pilgrims to Canaan, lest we stray,
Be Thou our Guide, be Thou our Stay
In all our needs.
6 Speed us, 0 speed us onward, Lord,
Supplies of heavenly grace afford,
And make us Thine in will and word,
And holy deeds.
7 So may we through Life's Desert go,
And come where fruits of Eshcol grow.
And crystal waters ever flow
In verdant meads ;
3 As Elijah was, at Christ's Transfiguration, Matt. xvii. 3.
Chiist weeping over Jerusalem. 323
8 And there to Father, and to Son
And Holy Ghost, Blest Three in One,
Sing ever praise, from Whom alone
All good proceeds. AMEN.
73. TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
' And when He was come near He beheld the City, and wept over it."
Christ weeping over Jerusalem, in the Gospel of the Week.
1 WHEN David and his faithful friends
O'er Olivet did go,
Thrust forth from Sion hy his son,
His tears began to flow.4
2 When scorn'd by Sion, David's Son
Look'd down from Olivet,
The countenance of Christ was sad,
His eyes with tears were wet.
3 While in the sun her Temple shines
With marble and with gold,
Christ weeps for her ; His prescient Eyes
Her future doom behold.
4 Soon at the foot of Olivet,
In dark Gethsemane,
Thou, Lord, wilt weep with tears of blood,
In bitter Agony.
5 And, further west, another Hill
Has tears in store for Thee ;
Thy Brow, Thy Hands, Thy Feet, Thy Side,
Will weep on Calvary.
6 0 precious Tears, most precious Blood,
More costly than the dew
That falls on Hermon's hill, and rains
That Carmel's flowers renew.
7 For from those Tears and precious Blood,
As from prolific showers,
A blessed Garden soon will bloom
Of heavenly Passion-flowers.
8 Thou, Lord, wilt rise from Calvary,
And through Gethsemane
From Sion pass to Olivet,-
For glorious victory.
9 And then another Sion's gates
Will Thee, O Lord, enfold,
Thy heavenly Sion, ever bright
With precious stones and gold.
10 Thou wilt ascend from Olivet
In might and majesty,
And open wide those Heavenly gates
To all that follow Thee.
* 2 Sam. xv. 30.
Y 2
324 Miscellanies.
11 And there Thou wilt for ever reign
A Conqueror and King ;
That Victory was won by pain,
That Kealm by suffering.
120 weep with Christ on Olivet,
That ye with Christ may rise ;
Ye sow in tears, to reap with Him
A Harvest in the Skies.
13 Glory to Father, and to Son,
For 'by His Death we live ;
And glory to the Holy Ghost,
Eternal Glory, give. AMEN.
74. ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY*
Divine Grace is given, not to supersede human labour, but in order to
quicken it, and that we, " plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good
works, may be plenteously rewarded :" a doctrine inculcated in the
Collect for the Day, and in St. Paul's words in the Epistle for the
Week.
1 LOED, for Thy Grace's showers
We pray to Thee,
Not that our path with flowers
Bestrewn may be ;
Not that our brows with roses
We may entwine,
Before their blossom closes,
Quaffing sweet wine.6
2 But, that like Trees fruit-laden
We may rejoice ;
And old men, young, and maiden
May hear Thy voice,
" Come, and your Harvest gather,
Your ripe fields reap,
And with your heavenly Father
Harvest-Home keep."
3 For not, that ye like flowers
May be, or leaves,
Sends He His heavenly showers ;
But for ripe sheaves.
To you His grace is given
Plenteous and free,
That ye, like corn, in heaven
Garner'd may be. AMEN.
5 The Hymns for Easter may be used with reference to the history of
Christ's Eesurrection in the Epistle of this Week. Also part of the Hymn
for Ash-Wednesday, with reference to the Parable of the Pharisee and
Publican in the Gospel.
6 Wisdom ii. 7, 8.
The Law revealed in the Gospel. 325
75. TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
The Epistle for the Week (referring to Exodus xxxiv. 20 — 35) compares
the glory of the Mosaic Law with that of the Gospel, and contrasts
the condition of the Israelites at the Delivery of the Latv, with the
privileges of those who live under the Gospel ; and suggests their
consequent duties of love to Sim Who opens our eyes, and ears ; see
the Gospel icliere He says " Ephphatha, be thou opened." (Mark
vii. 34.)
1 MOSES from Sinai brings the Law,
His face from glory gleams ;
The People's eyes, bedimm'd by sin,
Are dazzled by its beams.
2 To shroud the glory of the Law,
Shining with heavenly grace,
And spare their feeble eyes He puts
A Veil upon His face.
3 Beam with Thy Spirit on our hearts,
Take off the Veil that we
May see the Glory of the Law,
JESU, reveal'd in Thee !
4 Light up its Types and Prophecies,
Its moral Code unfold,
That we may all their glimmerings
Sunn'd forth in Thee behold.
5 If, in the twilight dim, the Law
Gleam 'd with such lustre bright,
How glorious is the noonday sun
Of Evangelic Light!
G If Thy bright beams on Moses' face
Did with such splendour shine,
How may we learn to gaze upon
Thy Countenance Divine ?
7 Thou sayest, " without Holiness
No eye shall look on Thee." "
And " blessed are the pure in heart,
For they God's face shall see." 8
8 0, therefore, cleanse our sullied hearts,
Soften these hearts of stone,
That we may see Thee and may know
As we, 0 Lord, are known.9
9 Unseal our blinded eyes ; to us
Say "Ephphatha," O Lord,
That we may hear Thy blessed voice
And see Thee in Thy Word.
7 Heb. xii. 14. 8 Matt. v. 8.
9 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
326 Miscellanies.
10 To Father, Son, Whose Gospel gilds
The Law with glorious rays,
And to the Blessed Comforter,
Be everlasting praise. AMEN.
76. THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.1
Christ's love to fallen Man, as seen in the Parable of the Good
Samaritan in the Gospel of the Week ; and the Preparatory charac
ter of the Mosaic Law, as typified in that Gospel, and as declared in
the Epistle of the Week ; in further illustration of last Sunday's
Epistle
1 WHEN from the City of our God
Man wander'd far away,
He fell into the Tempter's hands,
Was stripp'd, and wounded lay.
2 The Priesthood and the Law came by,
And Man's sore plight espied,
They look'd upon our wounds, and then
Pass'd on the other side.
3 At length another Traveller came,
Sent down from God to Man,
One, Whom the Jew in bitter scorn
Call'd a Samaritan.2
4 He bound our wounds, and pour'd in oil
And wine with tender care,
And bore us to the Inn — His Church, —
And safely lodged us there.
5 He gave us to the Host in charge,
And, " At that future Day
When I shall come again," He said,
" I will Thy pains repay."
G What beams of Grace and Mercy, Lord,
In Thy Example shine !
0 may we give Thee thanks and praise
By showing love like Thine.
7 So may we at that future Day
With joy Thy Coming see,
And hear that blessing, — " What ye did
To mine, ye did to Me." 3 AMEN.
77- TJie History of Sennacherib and Hezekiah.
1 0 KING of Kings, we Thee adore,
Thee, Lord, and Thee alone ;
The Earth, O God, Thy footstool is,
The heaven of heavens Thy Throne.
1 No. 77 may also be used. - Christ ; see John viii. 48.
3 Matt. xxv. 40.
Hezekiati s prayer ; the thankful Samaritan. 327
2 0 Lord, Thou dost permit the proud
To work Thy will divine ;
Sennacheribs Thy scourges are ;
They are " a sword of Thine." 4
3 Pull often, Lord, that sword of Thine
Lays fenced cities waste ;
And guilty Nations from their hand
Thy cup of fury taste.
4 The proud Avenger deems that he
Has made their rivers dry,
And Lebanons and Carmels spoil'd ;
Blaspheming God most High.
5 But when Thy Hezekiahs pray,
And for Thy succour cry,
Spreading the letters of the Proud
Before Thy righteous Eye ;
6 Then, Lord, Thy breath consumes the host ;
And in their idol's fane
By sudden strokes from children's hands
Sennacheribs are slain.
7 0 KING of kings, we Thee adore,
Thee, Lord, and Thee alone ;
The Earth, 0 God, Thy footstool is,
The heaven of heavens Thy Throne. AMEN.
78. FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY?
The thankful Samaritan, and the unthankful nine lepers in the Gospel
of the Week.
1 " Go, show yourselves unto the Priests,"
Christ to Ten Lepers said ;
All, as they went, were cleansed ; but one
Turn'd back, and he obey'd.
2 By turning back he gain'd from Christ
A blessing for his soul ;
" Arise, and go thy way in peace,
Thy faith hath made thee whole."
3 Lord, once afar removed from Thee
The race of Adam stood,
Tainted by Sin's foul 'Leprosy,
A wretched Brotherhood.
4 But Thou hast come from heaven to earth,
O gracious, loving Lord ;
And by Thy sanctifying blood
We are to health restored.
4 Psalm xvii. 13.
5 The Hymn below, No. 126, may also be used as a " Hymn of Thanks
giving."
328 Miscellanies.
5 Thy mercies on our weary souls
Fall like refreshing dews.
And ev'ry Day and ev'ry Hour
Thy gifts of grace renews.
6 We go unto Thy Priests, but first
Our Great High Priest we praise ;
Turn back to Christ ; for he who is
Most thankful, best obeys.
7 He who most thankful is to Christ,
He best in Christ believes ;
And greater mercies, Lord, from Thee
By thankfulness receives.
8 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God and Persons Three,
From Whom alone all good proceeds,
Be praise eternally. AMEN.
79. FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
" Consider the Lilies of the Field." Gospel of the Week.
1 THE Lilies in the field that grow,
Cloth'd by Thy goodness shine,
And preach to all "0 cast your care
On love and power divine."
2 The Lilies in the field that grow,
Or glisten in the glade,
Teach us how soon Life's flowers are blown,
And then how soon they fade.
3 The Lilies, that in winter die,
And in sweet spring-tide bloom,
Teach us how Christian Flowers of Faith
Will blossom from the Tomb.
4 The Christian soul that shines in peace
Mid cold neglects and scorns,
Gleams in the shade with silver light,
" A Lily among thorns."6
5 The Vine, whose branches, fed by sap,
Eipe golden clusters bear,
Teaches how join'd to Christ by grace
We live, and fruitful are.
6 The earth a holy Garden is,
An Eden to the wise ;
And there God with us walks, as once
With man in Paradise.
7 Each plant a story has of grace,
A tale of love, to tell ;
Each herb, to ears that listen, is
A living Parable.7
6 Song of Solomon, ii. 2. 7 Matt. xxiv. 32.
The Lilies of the Field— the Widow's Son. 329
8 The lowliest hedgerow flowers, when view'd
By Faith, and cull'd by Love,
May weave a garland for the heads
Of saints in heaven above.
9 And e'en the thorny briars of pain
Which fringe life's tangled iield,
Transform 'd by grace may to their brows
A wreath of roses yield.
10 0 therefore, to the Father praise,
To Son and Holy Ghost,
From all things be in Earth and Sea,
And from the heavenly Host ! AMEN.
80. SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
The Raising of the Widow's Son at the Gate of Nain, in the Gospel of
the Week.
1 0 SAVIOTJE, Who at Nain's Gate
Didst dry a Widow's tears,
And raise her only son, the prop
Of her declining years ;
2 What joy was hers, when life return 'd
Into that pallid face,
When he sat up, and when her son
The Mother did embrace !
3 And Oh, what holy raptures, Lord,
Thy saints in heaven await,
When they shall stand, upraised by Thee
At Thine own City's Gate !
4 Thy Nain, City of Delight,3
Will Thy blest Presence see ;
Much People then will be with Christ,
A glorious company.
5 What ecstasy will then be theirs
In that blest City, Lord,
When Sons to Parents will by Thee
For ever be restored !
6 O grant us so together, Lord,
To live in holy love,
That we together may be join'd
In holy bliss above.
7 Members of Christ our bodies are,9
The Holy Spirit's shrine ; l
O grant us so to use them now,
That they may be like Thine !
8 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Let every creature bow ;
The Resurrection, and the Life,
O mighty Lord, art Thou ! AMEN.
8 Nain means Delight. 9 1 Cor. vi. 15.
1 1 Cor. iii. 16. 2 Cor. vi. 1C.
3 3 o Miscellanies.
81. SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
The Christian Church, its unity in Faith, Hope, and Charity, as
declared in the Epistle for the Week.
1 THOU hast a Temple founded,
Lord, on Thyself the Rock ;
By Faith securely grounded,
It stands the tempest's shock ;
Its stones are all united
By the cement of Love ;
Its spire of Hope is lighted
•By sunbeams from above.
2 The Cross is on its portal
Which, with Thy blood2 baptized,
Invites to joys immottal
The World evangelized ;
Thy Grace is ever flowing
Throughout that Temple bright,
A Temple ever growing
In heavenly life and light.
3 Lord, make us by Thy merit
There lively stones to be ;
Compacted by Thy Spirit
In bands of unity,
Jewels to deck for ever
The mural diadem,3
Which crowns the crystal river
Of New Jerusalem ! 4 AMEN.
82. EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
Love to God, and Love to Man in God, as taught in the Gospel of the
Week.
1 As some fair Eiver, from pure fount, '
Which parts itself in twain,
With harvests crowns the water'd vale,
And gilds the fruitful plain ;
2 So heavenly Love, in twofold stream,
Flows forth from source divine ;
And fruits of Holiness and Peace
On its bright margin shine.
3 Since Thou, O Lord, our Father art,
And we Thy offspring are,
We love the creatures form'd by Thee,
And tended by Thy care.
2 As the door-posts of the Israelites, sprinkled by the blood of the
Paschal lamb, secured those within them, so the Church offers salvation
to all through the Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God.
3 Rev. xxi. 19. 4 Rev.xxii. 1.
True Love and pure Worship. 331
4 Where'er we go, where'er we look,
Wherever Man we see,
There an immortal spirit dwells
Made and redeem'd by Thee.
5 With divers tongues and differing names
Men may each other call,
Barbarian, Scythian, Bond, and Free ;
But Christ is all in all. 5
6 Thou, God in man, EMMANUEL,
Dost all in Thee combine ;
The African our Brother is,
Since Thou hast made him Thine.
7 One Earth, one Sky, one Sun, one Sea,
One holy Fount for all,
One Bible, and one Bread and Cup
In Thy Love's Festival.
8 So may we in one heavenly Home
All with one heart and voice
Praising One Father and One God
Eternally rejoice ! AMEN.
83. NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
Worship, not to be given to what is false ; and never to be withheld
from the True God : as declared in the Hook of Daniel.
1 LOED, may we nev«r, save to One,
In worship bow the knee ;
And may we never, Lord, forego
The Worship due to Thee.
2 Though Mammon should our hearts allure,
Or Glory with her guiles,
Or Pleasure should our homage claim,
With fascinating smiles ;
3 Though friends should scoff with withering scorn,
And bitter mockery,
And Faith, and Holiness, and Love
Reviled and rnartyr'd be ;
4 Though Satan, with his gilded pomps,
Be by the World adored,
And flaming furnaces await
The servants of the Lord ;
5 Though Satan rage with furious ire
On those who Thee obey,
And cast Thy Daniels into dens
Of Lions, as a prey ;
6 Yet never may we, save to One,
In worship bow the knee ;
And never may we, Lord, forego
The Worship due to Thee !
4 Col iii. 11.
332 Miscellanies.
7 At morn, at noon, and eventide,
When Faith uplifts her eye
To Thy Jerusalem above,6
0 hear our suppliant cry !
8 Give us the Martyr's faith and strength
And courage from above,
To worship Thee and onty Thee
With holy zeal and love.
9 So may we ne'er in lake of fire,
The den of Satan, be ;
But ever with Thy Saints above
In glory worship Thee.
10 To Father apd to Son of God,
Who with the children three7
Walk'd in the flames, and Holy Ghost,
Eternal glory be. AMEN.
84. TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
"Redeeming the time " — or, as the original signifies, " Ransoming
for yourselves the opportunity " (which is like a captive sold
under bondage), — "for the days are evil." See the Epistle of the
Week.
1 THOUGH days are evil, and as slaves
Sold under bondage be,
Yet can they be redeem'd and freed
By Faith, O Lord, in Thee.
2 The Thorn8 of Thine Apostle was
By Grace transfigured,
And blossom'd as a roseate wreath,
A garland for his head.
3 The soldier's Armour, who with chains
Did that Apostle bind,
Supplied a text on which he preach'd
A sermon to mankind.9
4 The soldier's Breastplate, and the Shield,
The Helmet, and the Sword,
Were consecrated by St. Paul
As armour of the Lord.
5 The Cross of shame a Banner is
Triumphantly unfurl'd ;
For Christ by dying on the Cross
From death has saved the world.
6 Dan. vi. 10. " His windows being open in his chamber towards
Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed."
7 Dan. iii. 25.
8 The thorn in the flesh of St. Paul ; see 2 Cor. xii. 7—9.
9 See the Epistle for next Sunday, the 21st after Trinity, Eph. vi. 13 —
17, written by St. Paul when he was a prisoner at Rome, chained to a
1 Join; i n soldier.
Redeem the time : the Nobleman : Wisdom. 333
6 The hour of peril is to Faith
A season opportune ;
And darkest Midnight is to her
A bright and glorious Noon.
7 Therefore to Father and to Son,
And, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Our Helper to redeem the Time,
Be praise eternally. AMEN.
85. TWENTY-FIRST SUNDA Y AFTER TRINITY.
The Nobleman (or Royal Courtier of Herod Antipas Tetrarch of Galilee)
whose son was sick at Capernaum, coming to Christ ; see the Gospel
for the Week.
1 PRAISED be Thy Holy Name, 0 God,
In all our sufferings ;
Behold ! the sickness of a son
To Christ a father brings.
2 The Nobleman of Herod's court
Was disciplined by grief ;
He came from Herod's court to Christ,
And humbly sought relief.
3 Christ sees thy son, is near his bed,
Christ reads thy heart and his ;
Then ask not Him to come with thee,
Who Omnipresent is.
4 " Go, — thy son lives." Believe in Christ :
In Him the Godhead see ;
And bless'd with the Centurion '
The Nobleman shall be.
5 The Father, and the Holy Ghost,
And Thou, 0 mighty Lord,
Eternal Sire's Eternal Son,
Be evermore ador'd. AMEN.
86. TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
Prayer for Divine Wisdom.
1 LORD, not for store of worldly wealth,
Nor worldly fame, we pray ;
Nor worldly joys, which brightly bloom,
And quickly fade away.
2 Better than Gold Thy Wisdom is ;
No rubies are so bright ;
A never-setting Star, it guides
With everlasting light.
1 Matt. viii. 9, 10. Luke vii. 9.
334 Miscellanies.
3 Not to the World, nor to ourselves,
But to Thy holy Eyes
We look ; 0 give us godly fear,
0 make us meekly wise.
4 True Wisdom, while it gives, receives
By scattering gets increase ;
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are Peace.
5 Honour and Wealth are in her hand ;
True Glory she bestows ;
A holy stream of Life and Joy
From her pure well-spring flows.
6 Praise be to God, the Only Wise ;
The Father and the Son ;
And Holy Spirit ever bless'd,
Eternal Three in One. AMEN.
87. TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
" Render unto Caesar the things that are Gcesar's, and unto God the
things that are God's." The Gospel of the Week.
1 "SHALL we, — the liegemen of the Lord, —
Tribute to Ca?sar pay,
Who holds Jehovah's favour "d race
Beneath his heathen sway ? "
2 Yes : Caesar's coin is in your hands ;
His sceptre is the rod
Which punishes Judea's sins
Against Judea's God.
3 And we, 0 Lord, Thine image are,
Stamp'd in Thy Mint Divine ;
0 grant us grace to give to Thee
The Coinage that is Thine.
4 Ne'er may it be defaced by sin,
Sullied by stains of lust,
Marr'd, dimm'd, and eaten by the world's
Spirit-coiToding rust.
5 Renew Thine image in our hearts,
Cleanse them with grace divine,
That Thine own superscription there
And effigy may shine.
6 So, when our bodies from the dust
Thou, Mighty Lord, shalt raise,
We in Thy likeness may appear,2
And give Thee endless praise ;
7 The Word Incarnate, Who in us
God's image hast restored,
The Father, and the Holy Ghost,
Be evermore adored. AMEN.
2 Phil. iii. 21, the Epistle for the Week.
' Who touched Me?' — ' The Lordoiir Righteousness' 335
88. TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTEE TRINITY.
The Crowd thronging Christ, contrasted with the faithful Woman, who
alone touched Him ; see the Gospel of the Week, compared with
Mark v. 30, 31. Luke viii. 45, 46, and above Hymn 50.
1 THE Crowd throng'd Christ with pressure rude ;
Their touch He did disown ;
But One who touch'd His garment's hem,
She touch'd, and she alone.
2 She touch'd by Faith ; His Power Divine
Eesponds to her appeal ;
And gushing from His Godhead's source
Virtue goes forth to heal.
3 Lord, may we never with the Crowd
On Thee profanely press,
With free familiar look and speech j
And confident address.
4 Thee in Thy holy Sacraments,
Thee, Lord, in fervent Prayer,
Thee in Thy Scriptures may we touch
By Faith, and find Thee there !
5 0 may we touch with reverent awe
Of body and of soul,
So may pure emanations stream
From Thee, and make us whole !
6 Praise Him Who cleansed us with His Blood,
The Everlasting Son,
The Father praise, and Holy Ghost,
Praise the blest Three in One. AMEN.
89. TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, Icing
the SUNDAY next before ADVENT.3
" The LOED our RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jer. xxiii. 6. See the Epistle of
the Week.
1 WE all, 0 God, unrighteous are ;
With sorrow we confess
Our great and grievous sins to Thee,
THE LOED OUB EIGHTEOUSNESS.
2 Not to Thine Angels, nor to Saints
Do we our prayer address ;
We fly to Thee, and only Thee,
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
3 Thou, Christ, the Great JEHOVAH art,
The Fount of Holiness ;
And " GOD WITH us " Thou art become
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
3 Hymn No. 36 may be used in reference to the Gospel of the Week.
Also, the Hymns Nos. 27, 28, in reference to the Collect of the Week ;
and No. 74, for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
336 Miscellanies.
4 Wash'd are we with Thy precious blood ;
Clothed in Thy spotless dress,
O may we ever dwell in Thee,
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
5 Make us to be in very deed
What we in word profess ;
0 make us like unto Thyself,
THE LOED OTJE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
6 Pour on us plenteous showers of grace,
Increase our fruitfulness,
That we may yield Thine own to Thee,
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 So, in Thy glorious image raised
May we Thy mercy bless ;
And sing for ever praise to Thee,
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. AMEN.
PAST II.
The Preparation for Christ's ADVENT, as described by the Prophet
Jeremiah, in the Scripture appointed for the Epistle. " Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch," &c. Jer. xxiii. 5 — 8.
1 BEHOLD the Day, the glorious Day,
When forth a Branch shall spring,
The righteous BEANCH from David s stem,
The Saviour, Judge, and King !
2 He comes ! He comes ! Man, Very Man,
From David's stem a Rod ;
And He the Root of David is ; *
The everlasting GOD.
3 To join us in Himself to God,
He comes ; to make us one ;
Children of God that we may be
In His Beloved Son.
4 Therefore shall Israel's ancient days
No more remember'd be ;
A better Exodus is ours
Who are from Satan free.
5 0 Son of God, led forth by Thee,
We to our Canaan come ;
From every clime all Abraham's sons
Find in Thy Church their home.
6 0 may all Nations, Lord, to Thee
Their prayer and praise address,
Christ, Very God and Very Man,
THE LOED OUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. AMEN.
* " I am the Boot and Offspring of David," says Christ (Rev. xxii. 1(5),
Who is the Root, as God, and the Offspring, as Man: see also His
words, Matt. xxii. 42 — 45.
6V. Andrew s Day. 337
HOLYDAYS,
ifc.
90. ST. ANDREWS DAY. NOV. 30.
1 How fair and pleasant is the sight,
When Brethren's hearts agree
In holy amity and love .
United, Lord, by Thee !
2 To-day their joys, like pure white flowers
In spring reveal'd, appear,
And deck, as with a snowdrop wreath,
The Threshold of the Year.
3 The Threshold of Thy Holy Year
Is garlanded by Love,
Which dwells in gardens of delight,
In Paradise above.
4 Bright pattern of fraternal love
To-day with joy we see,
St. Andrew, who a Brother brought,
A Peter, Lord, to Thee.
5 Brothers by nature and by grace,
Christ loved them as His own ;
Brothers united in the Cross,5
And Brothers in the Crown.
6 Like two fair Rivers overhung
By many a fruitful tree,
They flow'd together till they pass'd
Into the crystal sea.
7 They usher in Thine Advent,6 Lord,
Which saved the world from Sin ;
For he who would that Advent greet,
Must first with Love begin.
8 And he who would with holy joy
Thy Second Advent hail,
Must cherish in his heart that Love
Whose graces never fail.
9 The Love which brings to Christ is Love
Which, fed by holy showers,
Will ever brightly bloom in heaven
With amaranthine flowers.
5 St. Andrew and St. Peter both suffered Martyrdom by Crucifixion, the
former (it is said) at Patrae in Achaia, the latter at Rome.
6 The First Sunday in Advent is always the nearest Sunday to the
Festival of St. Andrew.
VOL. II. Z
338 Miscellanies.
10 The Father and the Son we praise ;
And Thee, O Holy Ghost ;
Give us Thy Love, the best of Gifts
That came at Pentecost. AMEN.
EMBEE DAYS, being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after
December 13 ; see HYMN 120.
91. ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE. DEC. 21.
1 THE wounds which Jesus once endured
In death were stigmas of His shame ;
But now they have for Him procured
A glorious everlasting name ;
The nail-prints, and the lance's scar,
Triumphal Trophies are ;
Marks graven on the Eock of Ages,
Like golden letters on the pages
Of some fair Book, unfolded to the eye
Of men and Angels for Eternity.
2 " Behold these Hands ; at My Command
Touch them," — the risen Saviour cried ;
" Reach hither, Thomas, reach thy hand,
Fear not, and thrust it in My Side ;
The signs which thou didst ask, receive,
Not faithless ; but believe."
Thomas obey'd ; an exclamation
Of holy awe and adoration
Broke from his lips ; " My Lord and God," he said,
He own'd his Lord, and to his GOD he pray'd.
3 To-day with joy we celebrate
Thy Birth, O Jesus, from the Tomb ;
And soon we shall commemorate
Thy Birth from holy Mary's womb ;
Thou, Virgin-born, our Eoyal Head
Art risen from the Dead ;
And we, Thy members, are arisen
In Hope with Thee from Death's dark prison ;
In Thine Ascension we, 0 Lord, ascend,
And dwell with Thee in glory without end. AMEX.
92. THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. JAN. 23.
1 TO-DAY in Thine Apostle shine
The splendours of Thy Grace Divine ;
To-day we celebrate, O Lord,
The triumphs of Thy holy Word.
2 Saul, who the blood of Stephen shed,
Is now by Thee a captive led ;
Thy Glory blinds his dazzled eyes,
And prostrate on the ground he lies.
3 He who Thy Flock did madly tear
Like a fierce wolf, — now kneels in prayer ;
He is baptiz'd into Thy Death,
Thou Crucified of Nazareth !
Paul's Day — Presentation in the Temple. 339
4 He who Thy Saints to prison hurl'd,
Will now evangelize the world ;
The persecuting Pharisee
Will burn with fervent zeal for Thee.
6 Forth will Thy valiant Soldier go,
And storm the bulwarks of the Foe ;
And plant Thy Cross upon the walls
Of Satan's forts and arsenals.
6 He will to Jew and Gentile preach,
By Life, by Writing, and by Speech ;
In patient Wisdom following Thee ;
And most of all by Charity.
7 He will in chains and perils be,
Be wrecked, be scourged, be stoned for Thee ;
For he has learnt to suffer loss
Of all things gladly for the Cross.7
8 Blazon'd with golden beams Thy Grace s
Shines in a halo o'er his face ;
Nothing he is, but all things can
By help of Thee, Thou God in Man !
9 From east to west, from north to south,
He bears Thy message in his mouth ;
And flying on an Eagle's wings,
To all the glorious Gospel brings.
10 Like some strong Flood from mountain source,
He streams and widens in his course ;
And flows into a sea of bliss
At Rome the world's Metropolis.
11 There he, a willing sacrifice,
Dies, and is borne to Paradise,
For Thee a joyful victim slain ;
" To live was Christ, to die is Gain."9
12 All Glory, Honour, Praise to Thee
For all Thy Grace's triumphs be ;
0 make us so to use that Grace,
That we may ever see Thy Face. AMEN.
93. THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEM
PLE, COMMONLY CALLED THE PURIFICATION OF
ST. MARY THE VIRGIN. FEB. 2.
1 O JERUSALEM beloved, joyful morn has dawn'd to Thee ;
Sing with joy and exultation, Sing a song of Jubilee ;
For the Lord, Whomthou art seeking, He for whom the Nations pray,
He, in human flesh appearing, to His Temple comes to-day.1
7 Phil. iii. 8 ; cp. 2 Cor. xi. 23—30.
8 The word GEACE stands at the beginning and at the end of all St.
Paul's Epistles which bear'his name. Phil. iv. 13. 2 Cor. xii. 9. 1 Cor.
xv. 10.
9 Phil. i. 21. ' See Mai. iii. 1, the Epistle of the Day.
Z 2
340
Miscellanies.
2 Glorious and bright the Temple with its gold and silver shone,
Which by royal hands was builded of the peaceful Solomon ;
But thy latter House is brighter,2 for in it a heavenly Guest,
God Incarnate, Son of David, Prince of Peace, is manifest.
3 He the First-begotten Only Son of God to-day is come,
He, the First-begotten Only Son of holy Mary's womb ;
All the faithful sons of Israel are in Him to God allied,
All in Him are now presented to the Lord and sanctified.
4 He shall purify the sons of Levi, and to God shall bring
Incense pure of adoration, and a spotless offering ;
Now the offerings of Judah shall through Him accepted be ; 3
Only true Propitiation for the sins of all is He.
5 Light the Gentile world to lighten, and thy glory Israel,
Shines in Him the heavenly Dayspring, God with us EMMANUEL ;
Now the aged World receives Him in its arms with faith's embrace,
And with "nunc dimittis" gladly greets the dawning of His grace.
6 May we, Lord, with holy Symeon, and with Anna, wait for Thee
In the visions of Thy Temple : May our hearts Thy Temples be.!
So, with Saints and holy Angels may we all for evermore
In Jerusalem the heavenly Thee the Lord of all adore ! AMEN.
94. ST. MATTHIAS' DAY. FEB. 24.
1 No longer Thou in human form
Art present to the eye :
But throned above the Cherubim
Thou reignest in the sky.
"2 And Thou, 0 Lord, dost all things see,
Seated in glory there ;
And hearest with a ready ear
The voice of fervent prayer.
3 To-day Thy Church appeals to Thee, —
"Show whether of the twain 4
To fill the place which Judas lost,
Thou, JESU, dost ordain."
4 The prayer was heard ; to show Thy Will
That trial then sufficed ;
The lot that on Matthias fell
Dropp'd from the hand of Christ.
5 The Scripture says, that " with the Eleven *
Matthias from that hour
Was number "d," equal to the rest
In Apostolic Power.
6 Since they are Twelve, one of the Twelve
Supreme we may not call •
Their Master Christ assigns the same
Title and Rank to all.
2 Haggai ii. 3, 7, 9. 3 Mai. iii. 3, 4, the Epistle of the Day.
« Acts i. 24. 5 Acts i. 26.
St. Matthias Day — The Annunciation. 341
7 Not less, when on His heavenly throne,
Can Christ Apostles make,
Than when He walk'd on earth, beside
The Galilean Lake.
8 Lots now have ceased ; the COMFORTER
To guide Thy Church is given ;
And by Thy SPIRIT Thou dost call
Thy Ministers from heaven.
9 A golden Apostolic Chain,
Lord, from Thy hand depends ;
The electric fluid of Thy Grace
By it from Thee descends.
10 Whate'er Thy Ministers dispense
Of heavenly Grace is Thine ;
Whate'er they have, whate'er they do,
Flows from Thy love divine.
11 The holy Church in every age
And every nation sings
Hesanna to the LORD of Lords,
And to the KING of Kings ;
12 To Father, Who did send the Son ;
To Son, Who them does send ;
To Holy Ghost, Who helps the sent ;
Be Glory without end. AMEN.
95. THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
MARY. MARCH 25.
1 How blest are days that Angels see,
And life they lead, from sorrow free !
While years and ages roll away,
They live unconscious of decay.
2 To-day the Seraph comes ; the same 6
Who once of old to Daniel came ;
Five hundred years have pass'd, but he
Shines in unalter'd purity.
3 To-day he comes from realms above,
On a like embassy of love ;
Tidings of joy has Gabriel,
Tidings of Thee, EMMANUEL.
4 On wings of love he flew to earth,
Bringing the Message of Thy Birth ;
O wondrous love ! for Angels see
Man raised above themselves in Thee.
5 God's palace and the crystal sea
He left for obscure Galilee,
And came to low Gennesareth,
And a poor home at Nazareth.
6 The Angel Gabriel : see Dan. viii. 16 ; ix. 21.
342 Miscellanies.
6 "Hail! highly favour'd ! for of thee
Conceived and born a Son shall be ;
JESUS, the Lord, God ever blest,
In human flesh made manifest."
7 " Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
Be it according to thy word : "
With faith and meek obedience said
Mary, the highly favoured.
8 Lord, may we serve, and gladly go
From lofty hills to valleys low ;
Stooping with Angels may we soar,
And live with them for evermore.
9 Oh ! may we love to wait on Thee
In quiet, silent piety ;
And may the Holy Spirit's breath
Breathe on us in our Nazareth !
10 The Eternal WORD vouchsafed to come
And make a Virgin's womb His home ;
And Thou hast said, that we may be
Dear as a Mother, Lord, to Thee.7
11 May we Thy living Word receive,
Bring forth to life what we believe ;
0 come to us, and with us dwell,8
Be ever our EMMANUEL.
12 Glad voices to the Father raise,
Give to the Son eternal praise,
And sing with all the Angelic host
Glory to God the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
96. ST. MARK'S DAY. APEIL 25.
1 THE virtues of Thy saints, O Lord,
Thy power and glory prove ;
The frailties also of the saints
Are trophies of Thy love.
2 Two champions 9 of the Cross went forth ;
The World did them revile ;
And one,1 who with them was, did faint
And falter for a while.
' Matt. xii. 50. Mark iii. 35. Luke viii. 21.
8 Eph. iii. 17.
9 St. Paul and St. Barnabas. Acts xiii. 2, 6.
1 St. Mark. Acts xiii. 13. Cp. Acts xv. 38.
Mark 's Day. 343
3 A wise Apostle's2 stern rebuke,
A tender kinsman's3 love,
A Mother's prayers,4 a contrite heart,
Brought pardon from above.
4 Pardon and showers of grace they brought,
And now the work is done,
Mark " profitable " is to Paul,5
Peter calls Mark "a son." e
5 The branch which once bore little fruit,
Now pruned by Thee has been ;
It teems with sap, and on its boughs
Are ripen'd clusters seen.7
G Once toss'd by winds of doubt and fear,8
Vex'd by the tempest's strife,
He now is anchor 'd on the shore
Of everlasting Life.
7 He, who had fainted, now through grace
Confirms the world's belief;
Once sick, a good Physician is,
And gives to all relief.
8 He, who once started from the course,
Now bears Thy living Word,
Yoked ever in the fourfold car 9
Which carries Christ the Lord.
9 Taught by St. Mark, the Morians' Land l
Now lifts her hands in prayer ;
He bears Thy light to Egypt's gloom,
And makes a Goshen there.
10 He sheds the Spirit's sevenfold grace
In Evangelic beams,
Like sevenfold Nile, which cheers that land
With fertilizing streams.
11 Thy living streams on Afric's sands
He pours, a holy flood ;
And what the Evangelist had preach'd
The Martyr seals with blood.
2 St. Paul. Acts xv. 38.
3 St. Barnabas. See Col. iv. 10.
4 The house of Mary the mother of Mark was the resort of many
gathered together to fray. Acts xii. 12.
5 2 Tim. iv. 11.
6 I Pet. v. 13.
7 John xv. 2, the Gospel of this Day.
8 See Eph. iv. 14, the Epistle of this Day, and also the Collect for the
Day.
9 The fourfold Gospel, borne by the four Living Creatures, displayed
by Ezekiel and St. John. See Ezek. i. 10. Eev. iv. 7.
1 St. Mark was Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, and died there as a
Martyr ; and the celebrated Catechetical School which produced Clement,
Origen, and other famous ancient Teachers of Christianity, bore his name.
344 Miscellanies.
12 Praise to the Holy Spirit's Love,
For all the gifts of Grace
Which cheer the Saint and Martyr's heart
And speed them in the race.
13 Take from us fear ; give power and love,
Sound mind and constant soul,
That we, O Lord, with them may run,
And with them reach the goal.
14 Praise to the Father and the Son,
Praise to the Holy Ghost,
Who makes the Christian's life to be
A Day of Pentecost. AMEN.
97. ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES' DAY. MAY 1.
1 BLEST be, 0 Lord, the grace of Love
Shed on our hearts by Thee ;
Which makes to us another's soul
Dear as our own to be.
2 " Follow thou Me,"2 the heavenly Guide
JESUS to Philip said ;
He follow'd Christ, and on the way
To heaven he others led.
3 He led Nathanael 3 to the Lord,
That guileless Israelite,
Whose heart beneath the fig-tree shade 4
Lay open to Thy sight.
4 The heart that loves and leads to Thee,
Is nurtured by Thy grace ;
And in the Apostolic Band
. Now Philip finds a place.
5 The Gentile B world invokes his aid ;
Pledge in his love they see
That he, who led the Israelite,
Will lead the Greek to Thee.
6 So Love abounds, and gains fresh grace
By its own overflow ;
For Thou on souls which loving are
Dost Thy best gifts bestow.
7 To-day with Thine own Brother,' Lord,
Philip is link'd in love ;
A brother to that brother join'd
By graces from above.
2 John i. 43. 3 John i. 45.
4 John i. 48. 5 John xii. 20, 21.
' St. James, " the Lord's brother," see Gal. i. 19 ; Matt. xiii. 55 ;
Mark vi. 3.
SS. Philip and James. St. Barnabas. 345
8 Not by the ties of flesh and blood
Thy kinsmen, Lord, are we ;
But fellowship in holy Love
Is Brotherhood to Thee 7
9 0 bring us to that holy place,
That heavenly home above,
Where Brethren shall as Angels be,
And every word be Love. AMEN.
98. ST. BARNABAS THE APOSTLE. JUNE 11.
1 BUEIED in heathen darkness lay
The World, as in a tomb ;
How glorious is the Gospel Light
Which has dispell'd the gloom !
2 The men of Lystra oxen brought,8
Victims with garlands crown'd ;
The Priest prepared the sacrifice,
With the flute's silver sound.
3 " The Son of Consolation " 9 came
To preach of JESU'S love ;
But they would change the Preacher's name,
And worship him as Jove.1
4 Jove, son of Saturn ; — rebel son ! 2
How great the distance was
Between the heathen king of gods
And holy Barnabas !
5 The one by cruelty defiled,
By envy, rage, and lust ;
The other full of heavenly gifts,*
Meek, merciful, and just.
6 Nobler, far nobler, is the crown
Of Thy least Saint, 0 Lord,
Than that of him whom Greece and Rome
With thousand shrines adored.
7 Lord, by Thy Saints Thou hast the World
From Satan's thraldom freed ;
Victims no more with garlands crown'd
Before Jove's altars bleed ;
8 But now Thy Grace on heathen Lands
Celestial gifts bestows ;
In fertilizing streams of life
Thy Consolation flows.
7 See Matt. xii. 48—50. 8 Acts xiv. 13.
9 St. Barnabas, Acts iv. 36. 3 Acts xiv. 12.
2 In the Heathen mythology, Jove, or Jupiter, rebelled against his
father Saturnus, and dethroned him.
3 Acts xi. 24, and compare the Collect of the Day.
546 Miscellanies.
9 Thy Sons of Consolation go
With messages of love,
And preach Thy Word, endued by Thee
With graces from above ;
10 On Afric's gloom it gleams ; Thy light
The glad Pacific sees,
Bespangled, as the sky with stars,
With Christian Cyclades.
11 Daughters of Consolation too
On loving errands haste ;
And widow, orphan, sick and poor,
Through them Thy comforts taste.
12 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God, one only True,
Glory and praise and blessing give,
As is for ever due. AMEN.
99. ST. JOHN BAPTIST'S DAY. JUNE 24.
1 IN the wilderness prepare ye for the Lord a Wajr to go,
Every valley shall be lifted, every hill shall be laid low ;
• Straight shall be the crooked places, and the rough be level made,
And all flesh shall see the Glory of the Lord of hosts display'd.
2 " Flesh is grass," the Voice is crying,4 " when the Lord sends forth
His breath,
As the flower of earth it fadeth, as the grass it withereth ;
But the Word of God endureth, It abideth evermore,
And the Voice the WOBD s proclaimeth, See the Lord ! your God adore."
3 In his mother's womb exulting did the Voice salute the WoED,6
In the wilderness the Servant gladly did proclaim the Lord ; J
When the Spirit came upon Him Whom the Father's Love did send^
" He the Bridegroom is from heaven, I from earth the Bridegroom's
friend." 8
4 " He the King, and I the Herald, sent His Coming to prepare ;
He the Shepherd, feeding, tending sheep and lambs with tender care : 9
He must increase, I must decrease ; Morning-stars must fade away
When the glorious SUN appearing pours on all a flood of Day."
5 John the Baptist, our Elias, preach 'd Thee in his Mother's womb,
In the desert, in the palace, in the prison's narrow room,
Sending then his two disciples ' to behold Thy mighty deeds,
That they might not ever falter in the faith as quiv'ring reeds.
4 Isa. xl. 6—10. The Epistle of the Day.
6 John i. 23.
6 Luke i. 41—44. The WOED, i. e. Christ, John i. 1.
7 Matt. iii. 11. Mark i. 7. Luke iii. 16.
8 John iii. 29—31.
9 Isa, xl. 11. The Epistle for the Day.
1 Matt. xi. 2. Luke vii. 18—22.
,5V. John the Baptist— St. Peters Day. 347
6 Thus He, Lord, his witness ended, emptying himself in Thee,
As the stars in Day are emptied, as the rivers in the Sea ;
And his light on earth was setting, that it might again arise,
And may shine with Thee for ever in Thine everlasting skies.
7 Greater than the holy prophets, for he did the Lord baptize :
Greater than the holy prophets, for he did evangelize ;
Since so great was John the Baptist, who beheld Thy orient gleams,
0 how blessed are Thy people walking in Thy noonday beams !
8 Now by works of man's invention, Lord, Thou dost Thy way prepare,
Where the valleys are uplifted, where the mountains levell'd are,
Where the iron cars are rolling, where the traversed earth we see,
In the wilderness of this World is a Way prepared for Thee.
9 Haste, O haste Thy second Coming ! may Thy Everlasting Word
Have free course among the Nations, and be glorified, O Lord !
In each work of engineering, in each fresh upturned sod
May we hear the Voice, " Prepare ye, 0 prepare to meet your God ! "
10 In our hearts Thy Way preparing, may we, Lord, Thy grace obtain,
Level hills, fill up the valleys, crooked straight and rough make plain ;
By Thy Spirit pioneering there a Sacred Way for Thee,
That Thou mayest march in triumph on Thy road of Victory !
11 Glory be to God the Father, and to God the Son be praise,
Who the high and proud abaseth, and the lowly doth upraise ;
Glory to the Holy Spirit, with the Father and the Son ;
Glory to One God for ever ; and to Persons Three in One ! AMEN.
100. ST. PETER'S DAY. JUNE 29.
1 " CEPHAS and PETES " — heaven-taught name,2
By which the Jew and Greek did own
That he who had that name from Thee,
Was in Thy Church a firm-set Stone ;
For he from Thee the ROCK was made,
And he on Thee the ROCK was laid.
2 And whence his firmness ? From Thy grace :
When strengthen'd by the Holy Ghost,
He who at Passover denied,
Did boldly pieach at Pentecost ;
He who before with fear did shake,
Now gladly suffers for Thy sake.
3 " 0 wherefore didst thou doubt ? " — Through fear
Once sank he in the stormy sea ; 3
And when he trusted in himself,
Then, Lord, he could not follow Thee ; 4
Now he is strong ; his Rock art Thou ;
No winds or waves can shake him now.
2 John i. 42. Both words signifying a stone, the one in Hebrew, the
other in Greek.
3 Matt. xiv. 31. « John xiii. 36, 37.
Miscellanies.
4 Once, when of suffering Thou didst speak,
" Be it far from Thee, Lord/' he said ;5
A stumbling-stone6 he was to Thee,
For he was feeble then through dread ;
By suffering we reign with Thee ;
That was Thy path to Victory.
5 Whoever builds upon himself,
He builds his house upon the sand ;
When rains descend, and deluge comes
With boisterous winds, he cannot stand ;
But he who builds on Thee, the Rock,
He only he sustains the shock.7
6 Peter, a warder of Thy House,
Stood at the gate, and bore the keys,8
Keys of Thy Word and Sacraments ;
To People, Priests, and Pharisees
He did Thy heavenly message speak,
Opening the door to Jew and Greek.9
7 Now can and will he follow Thee,
Thee, Whom he loves, the Shepherd Good ;
By feeding, Lord, Thy Sheep and Lambs,1
Which Thou hast purchased by Thy Blood
Since on the Cross his Master died,
Peter with joy is crucified.
8 At Thy Transfiguration, Lord,
He saw Thy beams of glory shine,
And heard Thee speak of Thy Decease2
By which that glory would be Thine ;
Now, Lord, Thy follower Thou dost own,
He bore the Cross, he wins the Crown.
& To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Eternal benediction be ;
Three earthly witnesses beheld,3
JESF, Thy glorious majesty ;
And all Thy Saints in bliss will see
And praise One God in Persons Three. AMEN.
101. ANOTHER HYMN FOR THE SAME FESTIVAL.
See the Epistle of the Day.
1 How blessed is the force of Prayer !
Eager for Peter's fate
Thy soldiers, Herod, bound him fast,
And watch'd before the gate.
s Matt. xvi. 22. * Matt. xvi. 23.
? Matt. vii. 24, 25.
8 Matt. xvi. 19. The Gospel of the Day.
9 Acts ii. 14 — 37. Acts x. 34. The word Greek is here used for Gen
tile, as commonly in the New Testament.
1 John xxi. 15—17. • Luke ix. 31.
3 Peter, James, and John, at the Transfiguration, Matt. xvii. 1 ; 2
Pet. i. 17, 18.
St. Peter's Day. 349
2 But JESUS has His soldiers too ;
They also vigils keep ;
They watch to prayer while Peter rests
In Faith, composed in sleep.
3 And JESUS other soldiers has ;
Responsive to the call
Of prayer His holy Angels come,
Sent by the Lord of all.
4 His Angels camp around the just,
And spread their silver wings
Above the heads of sleeping saints,
With soft o'ershadowings.
5 Prayer brought an Angel down from heaven ;
Sentries and bars were vain ;
With heavenly light the prison shone,
Unlock'd was Peter's chain.
6 The iron portal open flew ;
Peter to Mary goes,
Whose household prayers brought down the help
That saved him from his foes.4
7 And now at hand is Herod's doom ;
In brilliant robes array 'd,
And seated on his royal throne
He an oration made.
8 " A god, a god ! " the People cried ;
He gave not God the praise,
An Angel smote him ; quench'd in gloom
Was all that glory's blaze.
9 Oh, if we had the inner eye
To see the hidden world,
Banners of glory we should see
Triumphantly unfurl'd ;
10 And holy Angels we should see
Emerging from the cloud,
Saving Thy servants from the gulf,
And hurling down the proud.
11 Help us, 0 help us, Lord, to walk
By Faith and not by sight,
That we may with Thy Angels live
In Thine eternal light. AMEN.
* Acts xii. 12. He came to the house of Mary, where many were
gathered together praying.
35° Miscellanies.
102. ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE. JULY 25.
1 TO-DAY, O Lord, the holy James,
The son of Zebedee,
First Apostolic Martyr, dies
A glorious death for Thee.
2 Thy promise is fulfill'd, that he,
Should in Thy footsteps go,
And, with Thy baptism baptized
Should drink Thy Cup of woe.5
3 " Herod the king beheaded James,
John's brother, with the sword ;" —
How brief and simple is that tale
Told by Thy Holy Word !6
4 Yet in that brief and simple tale
Of the blest Martyr's death,
There is the silent eloquence
Of Inspiration's breath.
5 The glory of the dying saints
Not in broad rumour lies,
But in God's knowledge ; and their deaths
Are precious in His1 eyes. 7
6 He notes their sufferings in His Book,
And to His mind recalls ;
He counts their griefs, and puts their tears
In heavenly lacrymals.8
7 At the Great Day His Chronicle
Of Saints will open'd be ;
And men and Angels then will read
Their Martyrology.
8 God in His Word does not display
Saints in their dying hours ;
Teaching that by a saintly life
The death of Saints is ours.
9 He is Thy Martyr, who with love
Toils in a world of strife,
And noblest Martyrdom endures,
The Martyrdom of life.
10 Praise the Incarnate WORD, from Whom
All grace and glory flows,
The King of Martyrs, Who by Death
Eternal Life bestows.
11 Teach us, 0 Lord, in life and death
Ever to follow Thee,
That with Thy Martyrs we may praise
One God and Persons Three. AMEN.
5 Matt. xx. 23. The Gospel of the Day.
6 Acts xii. 1, 2. The Epistle for the Day.
< 1's. cxvi. 15. s Ps. hi.
6V. Bartholomew. 351
103- ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE. AUG. 24.
1 THE Tribes of Israel revered
Twelve Patriarchal names,
When God call'd Moses at the bush,
Forth-speaking from the flames.
2 Twelve bright clear Wells at Elim flow'd
Beneath the Palm-tree shade ;9
Where, marching through the desert sand,
They their encampment made.
3 Twelve Standards J stood around the Camp,
And round the holy Tent,
And when they moved, the Church of God
Forth on her journey went.
4 Twelve Spies were sent by Moses forth,
To search the Promis'd Land ;
Twelve Stones at Joshua's word were raised
From parted Jordan's sand.
5 Twelve Loaves of holy Bread were placed
Before the veiled Throne ;
Twelve precious Gems of brilliant hue
In Aaron's Breastplate shone.
6 Twelve Oxen bore the molten sea,
With outward-looking eyes,2
Type of the Fount, with which the Twelve
Would all the World baptize.
7 Twelve Thrones are promised to the Twelve
Who true to Christ remain ;3
They will the Tribes of Israel judge,
When Christ shall come again.
8 Then why repine, though none can here
On earth thy story tell,
Bartholomew ? — whom also some
Would call Nathanael.4
9 What reck we ? — Down to hidden depths,
Man's wisdom cannot delve ;
'Tis history enough, to be
One of the chosen Twelve.
10 Why heed we by what name the World
The blest Apostle calls ?
His name is graven evermore
Upon the heavenly Walls.5
" Exod. xv. 27.
1 Three Standards on each side of the Tabernacle, Num. ii. 2 — 17.
2 See 1 Kings vii. 24, 25. 2 Chron. iv. 2. The Laver, or Sea, supported
by Twelve Oxen (types of the Apostles), was wrought about with lilies —
emblems of Christian holiness.
3 Luke xxii. 28—30. The Gospel of the Day.
4 As some writers do : not so Augustine, in Joann. Tract, vii.
5 Eev. xx i. 14. " The wall of the City [the heavenly Jerusalem] had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the Twelve Apostles of the
Lamb."
352 Miscellanies.
11 The blessed Saints receive from God
A white and lucid stone,
And a new name, which he who has,
Knows it, and he alone.'
12 What matters it, though to our name
No page on earth be given,
If only, Lord, Thy blessed hand
Will write our name in heaven ?
13 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Loud Hallelujahs sing ;
May we serve here, and reign above
With our Eternal King ! AMEN.
HYMN for EMBEE DAYS, being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
after September 14 ; see below, HYMN 120.
104. ST. MATTHEW THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST.
SEPT. 21.
1 FOTJE Rivers from one holy Fount arise,
Forth from it flow, and water Paradise ; 7
Four Gospels, streaming from One Spirit's source,
Make the Church bloom like Eden in their course.
2 Four Living Creatures, — wing entwined in wing, —
Bear on a Chariot the Eternal King ; 8
Four Gospels — Four, yet woven as in One, —
Bear Christ the Lord, as on a winged Throne.
3 Beneath the Wings a Man's hand was display 'd ; '
God in the Gospels uses human aid ;
Wings are above, the hand is underneath ;
God moves the Writer with the Spirit's breath.2
4 To-day, 0 Lord, Thy Love we celebrate
To him, who at the Seat of Custom sate ;
O boundless Love, O mighty Power of Christ !
A Publican, the first Evangelist !
5 Despised of men, but chosen of ihe Lord
To preach and write Thy everlasting Word,
St. Matthew writes that Gospel for the Jew,
Who scorn'd him most ; and proves that Thou art true.
6 The Hebrew Law and Prophets here are seen
Bearing their witness to the Nazarene ; *
They to this Seat of Custom bring their fee,
And gladly pay their tribute, Lord, to Thee.
6 Rev. ii. 17. ' Gen. ii. 10—14.
8 Ezek. 1—5 ; and x. 14—21. » Ezek. i. 8 ; and x. 8. 21.
2 2 Pet. i. 21.
3 In St. Matthew's Gospel, written mainly for the Jews, and appealing
specially to the Hebrew Scriptures, as testifying of Christ.
St. Matthew — St. Michael the Archangel. 353
7 0 wondrous, wondrous work of Grace Divine !
How bright its glories in Thy Gospel shine !
To love their foes, to Publicans is given ;
They seek no treasure now, except in heaven.
8 Lord, give us grace, with lifted hearts to rise
To where Thou sittest, throned above the skies ;
That we may rest, when Earth shall be no more,
Sitting in peace upon the heavenly shore. AMEN.
105. ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS. SEPT. 29.4
1 " How dreadful is this place ! God's House
It is, the Gate of Heaven ; "
The Patriarch5 said, to whom a view
Of Angel-Hosts was given.
2 Chariots of fire and horse of fire
Around the holy Seer 6
At Dothan, when the young man's eyes
Were open'd, did appear.
3 And " HOLT, HOLY, HOLY," cried
The Seraphim who shone
Revealed to Isaiah's sight,
Near the uplifted Throne.7
4 Give us, 0 Lord, the eye of faith
The inner world to see,
That holy Angels we may view
And their blest ministry.
5 Then Angel voices we should hear
Join'd to our Jubilee
In this Thy Church, and echoing
Our Benedicite.8
6 Angelic faces we should see,
Angelic wings o'erspread
Above Thy holy Altar, Lord,
And Thee, the Living Bread.
7 And we should see in Angels' eyes
Angelic joys exprest,
When at the Font Thy little ones
Are folded to Thy Breast.
4 The Second Hymn for St. Peter's Day, No. 101, above, may also be
used on this Day with reference to the Second Lesson of this Morning.
The Hymn for Trinity, No. 62, may also be used on this Festival.
6 Jacob. Gen. xxviii. 12 — 17.
6 Elisha. 2 Kings vi. 17.
7 Isa. vi. 1. 4.
8 See the ancient expositors of 1 Cor. xi. 10 ; on the presence of the
Holy Angels in the public assemblies of the faithful in the Church of God.
VOL II. A a
354 Miscellanies.
8 And we should hear Angelic harps
And heavenly minstrelsy,
When one repenting sinner turns
With contrite heart to Thee.9
9 Lord, when we see the deepening calm,
And watch the quivering breath
That trembles on the lips in prayer
Of holy saints in death,
10 Then Angel Ministers will shine
Unveiled in our eyes,
Waiting to waft the faithful soul
In peace to Paradise.1
11 So may our human life on earth
A holy Bethel be,
Where on a ladder we may mount
With Angels unto Thee.2
12 The Day will dawn, when all will see
The Angel Reapers come,
To burn the tares, and celebrate
Their heavenly Harvest-home.3
13 0 give us grace as Angels here
To live on holy love ;
That the last Trump may summon us
To bliss with them above.4
14 Praise be to God ; to Father, Son,
And to the Holy Ghost ;
0 may we praise Him evermore
With the Angelic Host. AMEN.
106. ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST. OCT. 18.
1 " BELOVED Physician ! " — title true —
Physician of the soul,
Bringing the balm that JESUS gives
To soothe and make us whole.
2 A Victim is the emblem, Lord,
Of Thine Evangelist,8
Who in the clearest light displays
The sacrifice of Christ.
3 That Sacrifice the Well-spring is,
Whence living waters flow ;
Only on Calvary's Tree the leaves
That heal the nations, grow.6
a Luke xv. 10. * Luke xxiii. 43. 2 Gen. xxviii. 12—17.
3 Matt. xiii. 39. 49. 4 Luke xx. 36.
8 St. Luke. Among the Living Creatures symbolizing the Evangelists
in Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse, the sacrificial animal, the Ox, is the
emblem of St. Luke, who displays in the clearest light in his Gospel the
doctrine of the Atonement, and its blessed consequences to the world.
6 Rev. xxii. 2.
St. Lukes Day — The Acts. 355
4 The wandering and weary World
With grief and pain distrest,
Here may find peace, and may recline
Its head on JESU'S breast.
5 Here in this Gospel's holy page,7
We see all Adam's race
Restored to life and God in Thee,
And made His sons by Grace.
6 The Gentile World,8 the younger Son,
Recovers heavenly bliss ;
Is welcomed to a Father's house,
And by a Father's kiss.
7 It comes to Christ,9 and bathes His feet
With penitential tears,
And, kneeling there, the gracious words
Of peace and pardon hears.
8 Stripp'd in the road it lay, and scarr'd
By deadly wounds of Sin ;
But JESUS pours in oil and wine,
And brings it to the Inn.1
9 And, Lord, how blessed were the fruits
Which grew upon the Tree,
When Thou didst bear a contrite soul
To Paradise with Thee !2
10 To plead for us with His own Blood
Our Great High Priest ascends ;
St. Luke leads up to Olivet,
And there his Gospel ends.
11 It ends with never-ending Grace,
And never-ending Prayer,
Which Thou Eternal Priest in heaven
Art offering for us there.
12 Praise to the Father, and the Son,
The spotless Sacrifice ;
And praise be to the Holy Ghost ;
The One God, only Wise. AMEN.
107. ANOTHER ON THE SAME FESTIVAL.
St. LUKE'S " Second Treatise," the Acts of the Apostles.
1 " To plead for us with His own Blood
Our Great High Priest ascends ;
St. Luke leads up to Olivet,
And there his Gospel ends."3
7 In our Lord's genealogy, traced up to Adam by St. Luke iii. 38.
8 Luke xv. 11 — 32. All the particulars specified in this and the follow
ing verses are peculiar to St. Luke's Gospel.
" Luke vii. 44—50. » Luke x. 34.
2 Luke xxiii. 43. 3 See the preceding Hymn, v. 10.
A a 2
356 Miscellanies.
2 His Gospel ends ; and there begins
His other holy Book,4
In which we learn, 0 Lord, on Thee
Seated in Heaven to look.
3 " ACTS OF APOSTLES " is the name
By which that Book we call ;
Apostles act, but Thou, 0 Christ,
The DOEE art of all.
4 Thou art in Heaven ; and what on earth
Soever they design,
Suggested by Thy Spirit is ;
Whate'er they work, is Thine.
5 Here Thou art seen in Glory throned ;
And crown'd with heavenly power
Thou sendest down Thy promised Gift
Of Tongues, a golden shower.6
6 " Why6 look on us ? we nothing are ;
JESUS, and He alone,"
Said Peter to the wondering crowds,
" This mighty work has done."
7 St. Stephen's7 eyes illumined are,
The open'd heaven to see ;
He sees Thy Glory, and in death
Commends his soul to Thee.
8 " Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute ?
Thou persecutest Me ; " 8
Saul, blinded by the splendour falls
Of Thy bright Majesty.
9 The persecuting Saul is made
By Thee a holy Paul ;
And now he gladly for Thy sake
Suffers the loss of all.
10 0 Mighty Lord, Who on the Cross
Wast slain a sacrifice,
And now art ever King of all
Enthroned above the skies ;
11 There reigning in the highest heaven,
Almighty Lord and True,
Thou ever wilt Thy Church defend,
And all Thy foes subdue.
12 Depicted in this Holy Book
Thy glorious Form we see ;
And following Thine Apostles, Lord,
We ever follow Thee.
The Acts of the Apostles : Acts i. 9—11.
Acts ii. 1—5. 6 Acts iii. 12, 13.
Acts vii. 55 — 59. 8 Acts ix. 4.
The Ads — SS. Simon and Jude. 357
13 0 Lord, Who didst Thy Spirit send
From heav'n Thy Church to guide,
Here Thou the Bridegroom ever art
Remaining with the Bride.
14 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Who did St. Luke inspire ;
And on the Church at Pentecost
Came down in Tongues of Fire.
15 0 ever, ever, praises give
And glory to the Lord,
Who guides us to the realms of bliss
By His most Holy Word. AMEN.
108. ST. SIMON AND ST. JUDE, APOSTLES. OCT. 28.9
1 WHEN Thou, 0 Lord, didst send the Twelve,
Thy work of grace to do,
Then join'd in holy bands of Love
They went forth two and two.
2 To-day, 0 Lord, before our eyes
Two blest Apostles stand,
For ever in Thy holy Church
United hand in hand.
3 Jude bids us for the holy faith
With fervent zeal to fight,1
And Zeal shines brightly in thy name,
Simon the Cananite.2
4 0 Lord, send down into our hearts
Thy Spirit from above ;
And give us ever fervent Zeal
Temper'd with holy Love.
5 Zeal, swoln with passion's cloudy smoke,
Bursts forth in lurid fires,
And needs the purifying breath
Which holy Love inspires.
6 Thy Boanerges,3 once inflamed
With fires of furious Zeal,
Cleans'd by Thy Spirit, glow'd with Love,
Such Love as Seraphs feel.
7 Zeal, which had stirr'd with maddening rage
The persecuting Saul,
Now, join'd with Love, an Augel makes,
A Gabriel, in Paul.
9 The Hymn, No. 79, may also be used on this day, with reference to
the Collect for the Day.
1 Jude 3. The Epistle of the Day.
2 Or Zelotes. The name Cananite in Hebrew has the same significa
tion as Zelotes or Zealot, in Greek. See Luke vi. 15 ; cp. with Matt. x.
4; Mark. iii. 18.
3 St. James and St. John, Luke ix. 54. Mark iii. 17.
3 5 8 Miscella nics.
8 Kindle the altars of our hearts
With ardent Zeal for Thee ;
But, as Manoah's,4 in the flame
An Angel let there be.
0 Give Zeal, that for Thy glory burns,
And still Thy Law obeys ;
Which, while with Stephen it rebukes,
With Stephen loves and prays.
10 So may .we with Thy brethren,5 Lord,
In heavenly glory be !
For fellowship in holy love
Is Brotherhood to Thee.6
11 Glory to Father, and to Son,
Who, clad with Zeal 7 and Love,
Sent down the blessed Comforter,
The pure and holy Dove.
120 Gracious Spirit, ever brood
On us with golden wing,
Give zeal and love, that we Thy praise
In heaven may alway sing. AMEN.
109. ALL SAINTS' DAY. NOV. 1.
Vision of the Saints in future glory. See the Epistle.
1 HARK the sound of holy voices, chanting at the crystal sea,
Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! Lord, to Thee ;
Multitude which none can number, like the stars in glory stand
(/loth'd in white apparel, holding palms of Victory in their hand.
2 Patriarch, and holy Prophet, who prepar'd the Way for Christ,
King, Apostle, Saint, and Martyr, Confessor, Evangelist,
Saintly Maiden, godly Matron, Widows who have watch'd to prayer,
Join'd in holy concert singing to the Lord of all are there.
3 They have come from tribulation, and have wash'd their robes in
Blood,
Wash'd them in the Blood of JESUS ; tried they were, and firm they
stood ;
Mock'd, imprison'd, ston'd, tormented, sawn asunder, slain with
sword,
They have conquer'd Death and Satan by the might of Christ the
Lord.
4 Marching with Thy Cross their banner they have triumph *d
following
Thee the Captain of Salvation, Thee their Saviour and their King;
Gladly, Lord, with Thee they suifer'd ; gladly, Lord, with Thee they
died ;
And by Death to Life immortal they were born and glorified.
4 Judges xiii. 20.
8 St. Simon, probably, and St. Jude, were Brethren of the Lord. See
Luke vi. 15, 16 ; Acts i. 13 ; compared with Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark iii. 17.
6 Matt. xii. 46—50. 7 Isa. lix. 17.
A II Saints — Holy Baptism . 359
5 Now they reign in heavenly glory, now they walk in golden light,
Now they drink, as from a river, holy bliss and infinite ;
Love and Peace they taste for ever ; and all Truth and Knowledge see
In the beatific vision of the Blessed Trinity.
6 God of God, the One-begotten, Light of Light, Emmanuel,
In Whose Body join'd together all the Saints for ever dwell,
Pour upon us of Thy fulness, that we may for evermore
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost adore. AMEN.
110. HOLY BAPTISM*
1 How wondrous and mysterious are
The Methods of Thy Grace,
Which in Thy Holy Word reveal'd
From age to age we trace !
2 The SPIRIT on the Waters moved '
At the Creation's morn,
And from those Waters by His Power
The Heaven and Earth were born.2
3 On the Baptismal Water broods
Regenerating Love,
And there the Soul is born anew
Created from above.
4 The Deluge came, and to the world
Its Waters were a grave ;
But the same Waters bore the Ark,
Which did the righteous save.
5 Baptismal Waters are a grave
To Unbelief and Pride,
Baptismal Waters save the just
Who in Thy Church abide.
6 Through the Eed Sea Thy People pass,
Which overwhelms the Foe ;
And thence to Canaan's promised Eest
Forth on their march they go.
7 Baptismal Waters drown the Foe,
O JESU, in Thy Blood ;
And thence we to our Canaan march,
Cleansed by that holy Flood.
8 In Jordan Thou didst sanctify
The natural Element,
Empowering Water to become
A Holy Sacrament ; 3
8 See above, No. 68. J Gen. i. 2.
2 2 Pet. iii. 5.
3 " By the Baptism of Thy well-beloved Son in the river Jordan didst
sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin." — Office for Baptism
of Infants.
360 Miscellanies.
9 " By Water and the Holy Ghost,"
Thou, Blessed Lord, didst say,
" Ye must regenerated be," — 4
We hear Thee, and obey.
10 Water and Blood came forth, 0 Lord,
Out of Thy wounded side ; &
And by those cleansing streams of life
We are revivified.
11 Thou, Lord, baptiz'd in Thine own Blood,
And buried in the grave,
Didst raise Thyself to endless life,
Omnipotent to save ;
12 Baptiz'd into Thy death, we died,
Were buried, rose with Thee,
0 may we ever live to God,
And ever Thine may be !1
13 Thee, ris'n in triumph from the grave
Did Thine Apostles see ;
And heard Thy words — " All power is given
In heaven and earth to Me ;
14 " Therefore, go forth into the World,
And all evangelize;
Go forth into the World, and all
Into One Name baptize." 6
150 may the World Thy Temple be,
A living Temple, Lord,
Growing in light, and life, and love,
A Paradise restored.
16 Send us Thy showers of grace that we,
Grafted in Thee the Vine,7
May there abide, and may our lives
With ripen'd fruitage shine.
17 Baptiz'd in Christ we died to sin,
And to new life were born ;
O may we rise and hail with joy
The Resurrection's morn !
18 Baptiz'd in Christ we put on Christ,8
And then were clothed in light ;
O may we keep that garment pure,
And ever walk in white ! 9
19 So may we stand with Saints in bliss,1
That white-robed company,
Before the everlasting Throne,
And sing this jubilee,
4 John iii. 5. 6 John xix. 34, and 1 John v. 6. 8.
6 Matt, xxviii. 18, 19. Mark xvi. 15, 16.
? John xv. 1—8. 8 Gal. iii. 27.
0 Rev. iii. 4. ' Rev. vii. 13.
Confirmation . 361
20 " To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God and Persons Three,
Whose Name we bear, in Whom we live,
Eternal glory be ! "
111. CONFIRMATTON?
PABT I.
Sung by the whole Congregation.
1 FATHEB of all, in Whom we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give ;
Fountain of Love ! Who didst by Grace
Create anew our fallen race,
Making us sons of God to be,
Adopted in Thy Son by Thee,
O may Thy Blessing on us shine,
And, Father, keep us ever Thine !
2 0 SON of GOD, through Whom we live ;
To Thee we praise and glory give ;
O God made Flesh, Who hast renew'd
Man in Thine own similitude ;
Baptiz'd into Thy Body, Lord,
And grafted in the Incarnate Word,
May we for ever in Thee dwell ;
Be ever our Emmanuel !
3 0 HOLT GHOST, by Whom we live ;
To Thee we praise and glory give ;
Thou, Blessed Spirit, Holy Dove,
Who dost on hallow'd waters move ;
By Whom in them we joined are
To Christ, and God's own nature share ;
Brood o'er us with the shadowings
For ever of Thy golden wings ! AMEN.
PAET II.
To be used before the Laying on of hands.
1 0 GOD, in Whose all-searching eye
Thy servants stand, to ratify
The Vow Baptismal by them made
When first Thy hand was on them laid ;
Bless them, O holy FATHER, bless
Who Thee with heart and voice confess ;
May they, acknowledg'd as Thine own,
Stand evermore before Thy Throne !
2 0 CHRIST, Who didst at Pentecost
Send down from heaven the Holy Ghost ;
And at Samaria baptize
Those whom Thou didst evangelize ; 3
And then on Thy baptiz'd confer
Thy best of gifts, the Comforter,
By Apostolic hands and prayer ;
Be with us now, as Thou wert there.
2 Part of the Hymn for Whitsunday, above, No. 59, may also be used
at Confirmation, and see Nos. 128, 129.
3 Acts viii. 12—17.
362 Miscellanies.
3 Arm these Thy soldiers, Mighty Lord,
With shield of Faith, and Spirit's sword ;
Forth to the battle may they go,
And boldly fight against the foe,
With banner of the Cross unfurl'd,
And by it overcome the World ;
And so at last receive from Thee
The Palm and Crown of Victory.
4 Come, Ever-blessed SPIBIT, come,
And make Thy servants' hearts Thy home ;
May each a living Temple be,
Hallow'd for ever, Lord, to Thee ;
Enrich that Temple's holy shrine
With sevenfold gifts of grace divine ;
With Wisdom, Light, and Knowledge bless,
Strength, Counsel, Fear, and Godliness.
5 0 TRINITY in UNITY,
One Only God, and Persons Three ;
In Whom, through Whom, by Whom we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give ;
O grant us so to use Thy grace,
That we may see Thy glorious face,
. And ever with the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN.
PART III.
After the Laying on of the hands of the Bishop ; to be sung specially
by those who have been confirmed.
1 OUR hearts and voices let us raise
To God in songs of thanks and praise ;
We bless Thee for the Gift which Thou
Hast given to us Thy servants now ;
Gift from Thy Love's exhaustless store,
Seal of past graces, pledge of more,
Of graces that for ever grow
As onward on our course we go.
2 Pilgrims in this world's wilderness,
We see Thee near, and seeing bless ;
Ours are the mercies now which Christ
Grants in the Holy Eucharist;
The Manna now to us is given,
The Living Bread that comes from heaven ;
The Hock for us with water flows ;
Himself on us the Lord bestows.
3 0 speed us onward to the race,
From strength to strength, from grace to grace ;
So may we, by Thy Spirit blest,
Come to the Canaan of our rest,
Mounting on wings of Faith and Love
To Thy Jerusalem above ;
And praise Thee everlastingly,
One only God and Persons Three. AMEN.
Holy Communion. 3^3
112. HOLY COMMUNION*
1 SON of GOD, Incarnate WORD,
Thou the Source, and only Thou
Art the Fountain, whence, 0 Lord,
Pardon, Grace, and Glory flow ;
God in Man, we have from Thee
Life and Immortality.
2 On Thy Passion's holy eve
Thou a last bequest did give,
Whence we might the fruits receive
Of Thy death and by it live :
Christ is in us, we in Christ,
In the Holy Eucharist.
3 There Thou ever feeding art
Faithful souls with heavenly food,
There Thyself Thou dost impart,
And dost cleanse us with Thy blood ;
There the Cloud with Manna teems,
There the Eock with water streams.
4 With devout humility,
Faith, O Lord, Thee present sees ;
Faith adores and touches Thee
In these holy mysteries ;
And the heavenly virtue feels
Which from Thee comes forth and heals.
5 All unworthy, Lord, are we, —
Sinners in a sullied dress, —
But we come, that we may be
Clothed in Thy worthiness ;
Graciously receive us, Lord,
Meekly coming at Thy word.
6 Thou wast in a manger laid,
And wilt not our hearts despise ;
He who humbly to Thee pray'd
Went with Thee to Paradise ;
" Take and eat," Thou, Lord, dost say ;
" Drink ye all," — we, Lord, obey.
PAST II.
7 Now, O Lord, we fear not death,
We in Thee, and in us Thou,
Thou our life-blood, Thou our breath ;
Gates of Hell are conquer'd now ;
Christ Who triumph'd o'er the grave
Is Omnipotent to save.
8 We, 0 Lord, Thy temples are,
Pardon, Peace, in Thee we find,
Bond of Love, and Balm of care,
Courage, Health, and Light of mind,
Pledge of Resurrection see,
Gift of Immortality.
4 See also above, Hymns Nos. 36, Part iii., and 49, 50, 51.
364 Miscellanies.
9 Grant us penitence and love,
Grant us faith to feed on Thee ;
Send Thy Spirit from above,
That we, Lord, may welcome be.
When from earthly toils releas'd,
At Thy Heavenly Marriage-Feast.
10 Glory to the Father give,
Glory give to God the Son,
Him who died that we might live,
And with God in Him be one ;
Glory to the Spirit be,
Glory everlastingly. AMEN.
113. HOLY MATRIMONY.
1 How blest are hearts, which Christ the Lord
Couples, as with a silver cord,
In bridal unity :
How blest are hearts inspired by love
And pure devotion from above,
O Holy Ghost by Thee !
2 When Angels sang Creation's birth,
Man, fashion'd from the dust of earth,
In Eden was alone ;
But God made Eve from Adam's side,
And brought to him that lovely bride,
And will'd them to be one.
3 0 Holy Wedlock ratified
In heaven, a knot for ever tied
By God in Paradise !
O happiness beyond compare !
What tongues of Angels to declare
Thy blessedness suffice ?
4 Anthems angelical were heard,
When CHRIST the Everlasting WOED
To wed His Bride did come ;
He took that consecrated Bride,
Cleans'd by the life-blood from His side,
Unto His heavenly home.
5 At Cana's feast the Heavenly Guest
Did first His Godhead manifest,
And water change to wine ;
In Wedlock tears of sorrowing Earth
Are changed to wine of heavenly mirth
By power and love divine.
6 Mirror'd in nuptial purity
The Marriage of the Church we see,
And Christ's, her Bridegroom's, love ;
Angels look down, and anthems sing,
The Holy Dove, with golden wing,
Sheds blessings from above.
Marriage — " Peace to this house" 365
7 Bless these Thy servants, gracious Lord,
Whom Thou dost join in sweet accord,
The Bridegroom and the Bride ;
In sorrow, sickness, and in health,
In tribulation and in wealth,
Be Thou their Help and Guide !
8 Be with them, Lord, as day by day
They side by side together pray,
Thy Word together read,
Together at Thine altar kneel,
And with Thy Blood their union seal,
On Thee together feed.
9 May they for ever have Thee near,
Making them to Thyself more dear,
And each to each in Thee ;
So, when from earthly cares released,
May they at Thine own Marriage Feast
Be blest eternally !
10 To Father, Whose paternal Love
Sends Benedictions from above,
Eternal praises be ;
And God the Son, Incarnate Word,
With Holy Spirit, be adored ;
One God and Persons Three. AMEN.
114. THE VISITATION OF THE SICK.
Peace be to this house and to all that dwell in it.
1 PEACE to this house ! 0 Thou Whose way
Was on the waves, Whose voice did stay
The wild winds rage, Come, Lord, and say
Peace to this house !
2 Thou Who in pity for the weak
Didst leave Thy heavenly Throne to seek
And save the lost, Come, Lord, and speak
Peace to this house !
3 Thou, Who dost all our sorrows know,
And when our tears of anguish flow
Dost feel compassion, Come, bestow
Peace on this house !
4 Thou Who in agony didst pray,
" Take, Father, take this cup away,"
And then wast strengthen'd, Come and say
Peace to this house !
5 Thou, by Whose precious death we live,
From which we all our hope derive,
Thou Lord and Saviour, Come and give
Peace to this house !
366 Miscellanies.
6 Thou "Who didst hang upon the tree,
Uniting God and Man in Thee,
And wert our Peace,6 Come, Lord, and be
Peace to this house !
7 O Conqueror by suffering !
O mighty Victor, glorious King !
From out of pain and sorrow bring
Peace to this house.
8 Thou Who triumphant from the dead
Thine hands didst o'er the Apostles spread,
And say, " Peace to you,"" Come, and shed
Peace on this house.
9 Thou "Who didst on the clouds ascend,
And then the Holy Spirit send,
Send Him to comfort and defend
All in this house.
10 Lord, in the sacramental food
Of Thine own Body and Thy Blood,
Peace that is felt not understood
Give to this house.
11 Save, save us sinking in the deep,
Give ease from pain, give quiet sleep,
And under Thy wing's shelter keep
All in this house.
12 Restore us to Thine House of Prayer,
That we may praise Thy love and care,
And taste again together there
Peace in Thine House.
13 O make our doubts and terrors cease,
And from the bands of sin release,
In soul and body give us peace,
Peace to this house !
14 " Peace to this house," come, Lord, and say ;
Come to us, Lord, and with us stay ;
O give and never take away
Peace from this house.
15 And when at last our fainting breath
On trembling lips scarce quivereth,
O bring us through the gate of Death,
Lord, to Thine House ;
16 To Thine own House in Paradise,
To Thine own House above the skies,
To live the life that never dies,
Lord, in Thine House ;
17 To praise the Father there, and Thee,
And Holy Spirit, Persons Three,
For peace bestow'd eternally,
Lord, in Thine House ! AMEN.
8 Eph. ii. 14, 15. 6 John xx. 19. 26.
Communion of the Sick — Burial. 367
115. COMMUNION OF THE SICK.
1 O FEAR not, though before thee lies
A dark and narrow way,
For at thy side thy Saviour walks,
Thy Comforter and Stay.
2 Hold fast His hand, and lean in faith
Upon that mighty arm ;
His love and power will guide thy steps,
And shelter thee from harm.
3 Thou, Son of God, eternal Lord,
Who wearest human flesh,
And dost thy Blood and Body give
To cleanse us and refresh ;
4 0 make our sinful bodies clean
With that most holy food
Of Thine own flesh, and wash our souls
With Thy most precious Blood.
5 The Resurrection and the Life
Be Thou to us, 0 Lord,
Fulfil to us the gracious pledge
Of Thine own Blessed Word/
6 " Who eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood,
Dwells evermore in Me,
And shall by Me at the last Day
Upraised in glory be."
7 Therefore we fear not, though we tread
A dark and narrow way ;
For Thou art walking at our side,
Our Comforter and Stay.
8 We clasp Thy hand, and lean in faith
On Thy most mighty arm ;
Thy love and power support our steps,
And shelter us from harm.
9 O lead us through the gate of Death
Forth to that blessed place,
Where we may evermore behold
The brightness of Thy face,
10 And praise the Father and the Son,
By Whom we ever live,
And praise to God the Holy Ghost
Through endless ages give. AMEAT.
116. BURIAL OF THE DEAD?
1 WE hear the tolling bell,
We see the bier and pall,
Bearers and Mourners clothed in black ;
The solemn Funeral.
'• John vi. 54. 56.
8 See also Hymn above, No. 26, and No. 46, and also No. 63, and No.
79, and the Hymn below for the Consecration of a Churchyard, No. 123.
368 Miscellanies.
2 We see the open Grave,
We hear the sobbing moan,
When earth to earth and dust to dust
Falls on the coffin thrown.
3 We hear the holy prayers,
We see the closed ground,
Where, nought appears to human eye
Except a swelling mound.
4 The Bearers robed in white
Appear not to our eyes,
The Angels, wafting on their wings
The soul to Paradise ;
5 We do not see the souls,
Which there enjoy repose,
And taste such bliss as here on earth
No heart of mortal knows.
6 We see not yet the joys,
Joys that the Just await,
When they will stand with bodies rais'd,
Lord, at Thy Palace-gate.
7 Lift from our hearts the veil,
And help us by Thy light
To see the world unseen, and walk
By faith, and not by sight.
8 0 gracious Lord, to Thee,
We praise and glory give !
For Thou didst die and rise again,
That we might ever live.
9 O Death, where is thy sting ?
Grave, where thy victory ?
Death and the Grave are now the path
To Life that cannot die.
10 The Way, the Truth, the Life,
O mighty Lord, art Thou,
The Resurrection from the Dead,
To Thee shall all things bow.
11 Then wherefore mourn for those
Who fall asleep in Thee ?
They have begun to live the life
Of immortality.
12 O praise ye, praise the Lord,
The Father, and the Son,
And Holy Ghost, Whose breath is Life ;
Eternal Three in One. AMEN.
117 THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER
CHILDBIRTH.
1 ON every new-born Babe of earth
A heavenly light is shed,
Incarnate Saviour, by Thy Birth,
And from Thy lowly bed.
Thanksgiving for child birth. 369
2 Thou, beaming forth with orient glow,
Hast gilded with Thy light
Our human nature lying low
In the dark shades of night.
3 And in Thy Resurrection's morn
Another Birth we have,
Since Thou our nature, Lord, hast borne
In triumph through the grave.
4 And Thou hast made us heirs of heaven
And sons of God to be ;
And glorious life to us is given
Regenerate in Thee.
5 Thou hast transform'd our natural weeds
By sanctifying showers,
And Thou hast made them bear the seeds
Of ever-blooming flowers.
6 Bright Angels of the King of kings.
His countenance behold,
And sheltering with their silver wings
Christ's little ones enfold.
7 Therefore in childbirth throes, which Eve
In sorrow bore and pain,
Are gleams to all who Thee receive
Of joy and endless gain.
8 Then praise the Giver of our breath,
Who helps us in distress,
And guides us through the pangs of death
To life and joyfulness.
9 O praise be to the loving Lord,
Who heard His Handmaid's prayer,
And has her to His House restor'd,
To bless His goodness there.
10 Preserve her, Lord, and with her bring
Us to Thy courts above,
That we together there may sing
Praise to Thy boundless love ! AMEN.
118. COMMINATION?
1 A VOICE amid the thunder's roar
A curse from Sinai spake
To those who keep not all the Law,1
And one commandment break.
2 That Curse is past, for God in Man
Has all the Law observed ;
Christ hanging on the Cross endured
The Curse that Man deserved.2
u See also above, Hymn 31, for Ash- Wednesday.
1 Deut. xxvii. 36. 2 Gal. iii. 13. Rom. viii.
VOL. II. B b
3 70 Miscellanies, .
3 The Curse is past, but not the Law,
Which is fulfill'd by Love,
Love quicken'd by the Holy Ghost
Descending from above.
4 The tender mercies of our God
Constrain us to obey,
And call us back with words of power,
When from His path we stray.
5 0 Voice most terrible, if Love
Should speak to us in ire,
" Depart from Me, ye cursed ones,
To everlasting fire ! " 3
G 0 doom most terrible, if we
Should to the Mountains cry,
" Hide us, O hide us from the Lamb,
And from His wrathful eye." 4
7 Therefore, though Penance is asleep,
Though Censures now are weak,
Lord, in our hearts Thy Judgment-seat
Set up, and make it speak.
8 Not with constraint and servile fear,
But with a cheerful will,
With filial love, and Angels' zeal,
May we Thy Law fulfil !
9 So may we at the last great Day
Not hear an Ebal's voice,5
But placed on Thy right hand by Thee
Eternally rejoice !
10 The Father praise, Who warns in love
That we may ever live ;
To God the Son, and Holy Ghost,
Blessing and Glory give. AMEN.
119. PRA YERS A T SEA .
The Sailor's Hymn.
1 THE Ark of God in safety rode
Upon the foaming waves ;
The hand of God is with us still,
He loves us, and He saves.
2 A Way was open'd in the sea
Parted by Moses' rod ;
The stormy surge a highway is
To all who trust in God.
3 Matt. xxv. 41. 4 Rev. vi. 16.
5 Deut. xi. 29 ; Josh. viii. 33.
Prayers at Sea. 371
3 Jonah, restored to light of day,
Eose from the dark abyss ;
And all who die in Christ will rise
To everlasting bliss.
4 The liquid billows of the deep
A pavement were to Thee ; 6
And, Lord, Thy mighty mandate hush'd
The winds and raging sea.
5 0 Thou, Whose way is on the waves,
Defend us on the deep ;
Our Queen, our Country, all we love,
Bless, and in safety keep.
0 Thee ever present as we sail
Imagination sees ;
And fondly feeds the faithful heart
With holy similes.
7 Our towering Mast, that spreads its arms
Outstretching far and wide,
Is like the all-embracing Cross,
On which the Saviour died.
8 Our Flag that floats upon its head
To sun and breeze unfurl'd,
Is like the Banner of the Cross,
Which overcomes the World.
9 Anchors that safely moor the Ship
In deep abysses lie ;
But Christian Hope with firm-set grasp
Is anchor'd in the sky.7
10 Sometimes we plunge in yawning gulfs,
Sometimes we are at rest ;
Sometimes the Church is tempest- tost,
And now no more distrest.
11 Each at his post, the work assign'd
In order we fulfil ;
So may we in the bark of Christ
Obey His holy will.
12 Our bodies are with earthly food,
Lord, by Thy bounty fed ;
0 give, and may our hearts receive,
Thy ever-living Bread.
13 Aiding our toil the prosperous Wind
Propels our straining sails ;
The Holy Spirit wafts us on
With His propitious gales.
14 The Chart and Compass in the deep
Our trackless path declare ;
Compass and Chart, which guide to heaven,
The Holy Scriptures are.
6 Matt. xiv. 25. 7 Heb. vi. 19. See above, Hymn 58.
B b 2
3 7 2 Miscellanies .
15 The Helmsman steers us through the storms
And quicksands to the shore :
Christ at the Helm His Vessel guides
To Peace for evermore.
16 Our Ship may founder ; but the Sea
Will one day yield its dead,8
And all Christ's loyal crew will then
Be safe with Christ their Head.
17 The Stars will fall, the Sun he dark,
There will be no more Sea ; 9
And in a billowy flood of Fire
The Earth will whelmed be.1
18 But safely on the flaming waves
The Ark of Christ will ride.
And all will come to land with joy
Who in that Ship abide.
19 Thus ever Thou, 0 Blessed Lord,
Art with us on the Sea ;
0 may we in the Heavenly Port
Be ever, Lord, with Thee !
20 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Eternal praise be given,
The God who guides through earthly storms
To endless calm in heaven. AMEN.
120. FOB EMBER WEEKS; AND AT TEE ORDINATION
OF BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND DEACONS?
1 0 LORD, Who in Thy love divine
Didst leave in heaven the Ninety-nine,3
In pity for a World undone,
And gav'st Thy life to save the One,
And didst it on Thy shoulders bear
In joy to heaven, receive our prayer.
2 Thou Who the night in prayer didst spend,
And then Thy Twelve Apostles send ; 4
And bidd'st us pray the Harvest's Lord
To send forth Sowers of Thy Word,5
Hear, and Thy chosen servants bless
With seven-fold gifts of holiness.
3 Look down, with gracious eye behold,
With watchful care protect Thy Fold,
Secure from hireling Shepherds keep,
Who feed themselves, and not the sheep,
8 Rev. xx. 13. » Rev. xxi. 1.
1 2 Pet. iii. 10-12.
2 Part of the Hymn for Whitsunday, above, No. 59, may be now used.
Also Hymn 8.
3 Matt, xviii. 12. Luke xv. 4. 4 Luke vi. 12.
5 Matt. ix. 38. Luke x. 2.
Ember Weeks. 373
And when the prowling wolf is nigh,
Forsake the flock in fear and fly.
4 0 Thou, Who didst at Pentecost
Send down from heaven the Holy Ghost,
That He might with Thy Church abide
For ever to defend and guide ;
Illuminate and strengthen, Lord,
The Preachers of Thy Holy Word.
5 0 may Thy Pastors faithful be,
Not labouring for themselves, but Thee ;
Give grace to feed with wholesome food
The sheep and lambs bought by Thy Blood ;
To tend Thy flock, and thus to prove
How dearly they the Shepherd love !
6 That which the Holy Scriptures teach,
That, and that only, may they preach ;
May they the true Foundation lay,
Build gold thereon, not wood or hay ; 6
And meekly preach, in days of strife,
The Sermon of a holy life.
7 As ever in Thy holy Eyes,
And Stewards of Thy mysteries,
May they the People teach to see
Not, Lord, Thy Ministers, but Thee ;
To see a loving Saviour's face
Reveal'd in all Thy means of grace.
8 May they Thy Word with boldness speak,
And bear with tenderness the weak ;
Not seeking their own things as best,
But what may edify the rest ;
With wisdom and simplicity,
And, most of all, with charity.
9 O may Thy People faithful be,
And in Thy Pastors honour Thee,
And with them work, and for them pray,
And gladly Thee in them obey ;
Receive the prophet of the Lord,
And gain the prophet's own reward.7
10 So may we, when our work is done,
Together stand before the Throne ;
And joyful hearts and voices raise
In one united song of praise,
With all the bright celestial Host,
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN.
121. THE QUEEN'S ACCESSION. JUNE 20.
1 0 SON of God, F.ternal WOED,
Conqueror of Satan, Mighty Lord,
6 1 Cor. iii. 11, 12. 7 Matt. x. 41.
374 Miscellanies.
Who hast ascended up on high,
And reignest there eternally ;
To Whom the Father now has given
All power and might in earth and heaven ; 8
Thee Lord and King the Angels own,
And cast their crowns before Thy Throne ;
Thee shall all Nations serve, to Thee
All Kings shall humbly bow the knee.9
2 How glorious will Thy Kingdom be,
How awful, Lord, Thy Majesty,
In that great Day, the Day of Doom,
When Thou upon the clouds wilt come,
Like Lightning's flash through darkness dim,1
With legions of bright Seraphim ;
When the last Trump shall rend the skies,
When all shall from their graves arise,
And all be call'd their God to meet,
And stand before Thy Judgment-seat !
3 Thy Kingdom now Thou dost maintain
By earthly Kings, who by Thee reign ; 2
In lawful things man service owes
To those on whom God power bestows ; 3
Thy Ministers, O Lord, are they ;
Obeying them we Thee obey ; 4
True Loyalty expects reward
Not here from men, but from the Lord ;
Who for his Queen and Country dies,
He is a Martyr in Thine Eyes.
4 May Kings and Queens Thy Eealm extend,
Thy Gospel love, Thy Truth defend ;
May they and all the World confess
That Thrones subsist by Righteousness ; s
And, Lord, Thy best of Blessings shed
On Thine Anointed Servant's head!
Give Her what Heav'n alone imparts,
A Throne in all Her People's hearts;
Give Blessings here, hereafter give
The Crown and Palm that ever live ! AMEN.
122. CONSECRATION OF CHURCHES, OR LATIN V
THE FIRST STONE.6
1 WHEN the Architect Almighty had created heaven and earth,
Temple of the glorious Godhead, Angels shouted at their birth ; 7
8 Matt, xxviii. 18. 9 Ps. Ixxii. 11.
1 Matt. xxiv. 27. " Prov. viii. 15.
3 Rom. xiii. 1—4, the Second Lesson for the Day, and 1 Pet. ii. 13, 15,
the Epistle for the Day.
4 Rom. xiii. 4. * Prov. xiv. 34 ; xvi. 12.
* See also above, Hymns Nos. 60 and 81.
7 Job xxxviii. 7.
'Consecration of Churches and Churchyards. 375
Morning stars in holy concert sang a joyful Jubilee,
And the whole Creation chanted Hallelujah, Lord, to Thee!
2 In a moving Tabernacle Thou of old didst deign to dwell,
In the darkness and the stillness of the holy oracle ;
In the cloud Thy power was shrouded, in the fire Thy glory shone,
In the consecrated Temple of the princely Solomon.8
3 In that holy Place Isaiah did Thy throne of glory see,9
And he heard the voice of Seraphs singing hymns of praise to Thee ;
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord of Hosts eternally
Sing they in the heavenly Temple to the Blessed Trinity.1
4 God in human flesh appearing, shrining Man with Deity,
In the Temple was presented ; and the Temple's Lord was He :
In the Temple Holy JESUS as a Child and Teacher sate;
And the Feast of Dedication " GOD WITH us " did celebrate.2
5 Look from heav'n and shine upon us with the splendour of Thy face,
Shed on us the Pentecostal benedictions of Thy grace ;
Ever present and propitious to the eye of Faith appear
In the worship of the Temple which to Thee to-day we rear.
6 O'er the Font's baptismal waters may the Holy Spirit move,
Quickening that holy laver with regenerating love ;
Lord, be ever at the Altar feeding there with heavenly food.
Pardoning, refreshing, cleansing, with Thy Body and Thy Blood.
7 May Thy Ministers be faithful, sowing here the seed divine,
Seed of Evangelic doctrine, Apostolic discipline ;
May Thy People bear abundant fruits of Faith and Love to Thee
And in heav'n by Angel-reapers may they safely garner'd be.
8 Here to-day an earthly Temple to Thy Name we dedicate,
And we pray Thee, by Thy Spirit us, 0 Lord, to consecrate,
Consecrate us to be temples of the Blessed Three in One,
Founded on Apostles, Prophets, JESUS CHRIST the Corner-stone :
9 So when earthly Temples shall be all dissolved in the dust,
We may at the Kesurrection rise in glory with the Just,
When the heavenly City, shining and adorned as a Bride
For her Husband with Thy Presence shall, O Lord, be glorified ; 3
10 When that holy City gleaming with its jewels, pearls, and gold
Shall descend and in its portals all the risen saints enfold ;
May we in its light eternal sing with all the heavenly host
Glory be to God the Father, to the Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN.
123. CONSECRATION OF A CHURCHYARD*
1 FROM JESU'S eyes, beside the grave,
Some tears were seen to flow ;
And when a holy Martyr5 died,
Were heard the sounds of woe.
8 2 Chron. vii. 1. 9 I«a. vi. 1—3. ' Rev. iv. 8.
2 John x. 22. :t Rev. xxi. 2.
4 See also above, the Hvmn for Easter Even, No. 46, and No. 63, and
for the Burial of the Dead, No. 116.
5 St. Stephen. Acts viii. 2.
376 Miscellanies.
2 Sorrow we must, but bounds are set
By Faith to Sorrow's scope ;
Mourn for the Dead, but do not mourn
As those who have no hope.6
3 Faith, looking on this hallow'd ground,
A holy Garden sees,
A Paradise where lovely Flowers
Will grow and fruitful Trees.
4 Here, on this ground, a heavenly dew
A dew of herbs, is shed :
And many here will wake and sing,
When Earth shall yield her Dead.
5 " I heard a voice from heaven, The dead
Who die in Christ, are blest ;
The Spirit says, They are at peace,
And from their troubles rest." 8
6 Members of Christ their bodies were,9
And, join'd to Christ their Head,
Will by His Resurrection rise
In triumph from the dead.
7 And they the Spirit's temples were,1
And though dissolv'd in death,
They will in glory be restor'd
Rais'd by the Spirit's breath.2
8 The Trump will sound, and in the clouds
The Lord will be reveal'd,
And every Grave will open'd be,
And every Tomb uuseal'd.
9 Christ will transform His risen Saints,
With power and love divine ;
Their bodies will in heavenly light
Like to His Body shine.3
10 Call'd from their graves to meet the Lord,
And caught up in the air,4
They will be borne to heaven and dwell
With Him for ever there.
11 0 therefore bless the Lord of Life,
Who pluck'd from Death his sting,
And will His people through the Grave
To joys immortal bring.
12 Lord, give us grace to die to sin,
And rise to life renewed ;
That we may rise to endless life
In Thy similitude.
• 1 Thess. iv. 13.
8 Rev. xiv. 13.
1 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; vi. 19.
» Phil, iii 21.
7 Isa. xxvi. 19.
9 ICor. vi.15.
2 Rom. viii. 11.
4 1 Thess. iv. 17.
Missions to the Heathen. 377
13 Glory to Father, and to Son,
Who died that we may live,
And to the quickening Spirit praise
And adoration give. AMEN.
124. MISSIONS TO THE HEATHEN?
1 THE Banner of the Cross
Will be to all unfurl'd ;
The Gospel of the Living God
Be preach'd to all the World.6
2 Refresh'd with streams of life,
Which from that Gospel flows,
The wilderness and desert place
Will blossom as the rose.
3 " Go forth," the Lord has said,
" And preach the Word to all ; "
May all the World Thy Name adore,
And Thee their Saviour call !
4 By Apostolic lips,
Lord, in all heathen lands
Thy Word be preach'd, Thy Grace dispens'd
By Apostolic hands !
5 Now for the Lord our God
A Highway is prepared ;
Now to the Nations of the Earth
His mighty arm is bared.
0 In India's southern shore,
Where Satan was adored,
They love the Word and Sacraments
Of Jesus Christ the Lord.
7 The Morians' Land to God
Now stretches forth her hands,
And holy Hallelujahs rise
From Afric's golden sands.
8 Cheer'd by the Gospel light
The glad Pacific smiles ;
And soon its glorious light shall gleam
On all its thousand isles.
9 The Earth from east to west,
The Earth from sea to sea,
As with a zone of holy love
Shall soon encircled be.
10 And when that Word is preach'd,
And when that work is done,
When Christ is known, and Christ is praised
From ris'n to setting sun ;
5 See also above, Nos. 60 and 82. 6 Matt. xxiv. 14.
378 Miscellanies.
11 Then Christ Himself will come,"
And call us from the tomb ;
And all will see the Judge appear,
And all will hear their doom.
12 0 everlasting Lord,
How shall we see Thy face,
If we have fail'd to spread abroad
The Gospel of Thy Grace ?
13 O endless, endless shame,
0 endless misery !
For none, who have not fought the fight,
Will share the victory.
14 But O what joys await
Thy valiant soldiers, Lord,
Who have with faith and zeal advanc'd
The Kingdom of Thy Word !
15 Unfading crowns and palms
Thy Saints in heaven shall bear;
And all who have Thy Gospel lov'd,
And foster'd, shall be there.
16 They will in glory stand,
They will in glory shine,
Bright as the starry firmament;8
They will be ever Thine.
17O therefore bless the Lord,
With praise and offerings ;
With heart and hand glad homage pay
To the great King of Kings.
18 The hand that gives, receives
More blessings from above ;
The thankful Ocean fills the clouds
That rain down showers of love.
19 To Father, and to Son,
And, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
May all the World Hosannas sing,
One God and Persons Three. AMEN.
125. SCHOOLS.
HEAVENLY Father, send Thy Blessing
On Thy children gather'd here,
May they all, Thy Name confessing,
Be to Thee for ever dear ;
May they be, like Joseph, loving,
Dutiful, and chaste, and pure ;
And their faith, like David, proving,
Stedfast unto death endure.
Matt. xxiv. 14. Mark xiv. 9.
8 Dan.xii.3.
Schools — Charitable Collections. 379
2 Holy SAVIOUR, Who in meekness
Didst vouchsafe a Child to be,
Guide their steps, and help their weakness,
Bless, and make them like to Thee ;
Bear Thy lambs when they are weary
In Thine arms, and at Thy breast ;
Through life's desert, dry and dreary,
Bring them to Thy heavenly rest.
3 Spread Thy golden pinions o'er them,
HOLY SPIRIT, from above,
Guide them, lead them, go before them,
Give them peace, and joy, and love ;
Temples of the Holy Spirit
May they with Thy glory shine,
And immortal bliss inherit,
And for evermore be Thine ! AMEN.
126. CHARITABLE COLLECTIONS?
1 0 LORD of heaven, and earth, and sea,
To Thee all praise and glory be ;
How shall we show our love to Thee,
Giver of all ?
2 The golden sunshine, vernal air,
Sweet flowers and fruits, Thy love declare,
Where harvests ripen Thou art there,
Giver of all !
3 For peaceful homes, and healthful days,
For all the blessings Earth displays,
We owe Thee thankfulness and praise,
Giver of all !
4 Thou didst not spare Thine only SON,
But gav'st Him for a world undone,
And freely with that Blessed One
Thou gi vest all.
5 Thou giv'st the HOLY SPIRIT'S dower,
Spirit of life, and love, and power,
And dost His sevenfold graces shower
Upon us all.
6 For souls redeem'd, for sins forgiven,
For means of grace and hopes of heaven,
FATHER, what can to Thee be given,
Who givest all ?
7 We lose what on ourselves we spend,
We have as treasure without end
Whatever, Lord, to Thee we lend,
Who givest all.
9 For Hymns for "Charitable Collections" see also above, Nos. 69
and 76.
380 Miscellanies.
8 Whatever, Lord, we lend to Thee,
Eepaid a thousandfold will be ;
Then gladly will we give to Thee,
Giver of all !
9 To Thee, from whom we all derive
Our life, our gifts, our power to give
O may we ever with Thee live ;
Giver of all ! AMEN.
127- THANKSGIVING FOR HARVEST?
1 OUR hearts and voices let us raise,
In songs of thankfulness and praise,
Our heavenly Father's love to bless,
Which crowns the year with fruitfulness.
2 Cheer 'd by Thy sun and fostering rain
The valleys wave with golden grain,
The corn-fields teem with ripen 'd shocks.
The stalls with herds, the folds with flocks.
3 For what Thy bounteous hand imparts
Give us the grace of thankful hearts,
Hearts which their thankfulness may prove
.By hymns of praise, and gifts of love.
4 0 Thou that art the Harvest's Lord,
Send forth the Sowers of Thy Word ;
Speed them, O speed them on the wings
Of prayers and cheerful offerings.
5 May distant climes Thy Word receive,
Land after Land, till all believe,
And bear the fruit that never dies ;
Till Earth shall bloom like Paradise.
6 Shine on us with Thy glorious face,
Refresh us with Thy gifts of grace,
The gifts which by the Holy Ghost
Wore shed from heaven at Pentecost.
7 O may we, like a fruitful Field,
To Thee a rich abundance yield ;
And, as the fields with harvests wave,
Rise from the furrows of the Grave.
8 So, when the Angel-reapers come,
And Thou shalt keep Thy Harvest-home,
We in Thy Barn may garner 'd be,
Thy heavenly Barn, eternally.
9 Praise to our God and Father give,
The Source of love, in Whom we live,
Praise to the Son and Spirit be,
One only God, and Persons Three. AMEN.
1 For another " Hymn for Harvest " see above. No. 74
Conformation . 381
128. AT CONFIRMATION."
1 LORD, be Thy Word my rule :
In it may I rejoice ;
Thy glory be my aim,
Thy holy will my choice ;
2 Thy promises my hope,
Thy Providence my guard ;
Thine arm my strong support,
Thyself my great reward ! AMEN.
129. AT CONFIRMATION.
To be sung after the Laying on of hands.
1 " THINE for ever I Thine for ever !"
May Thy face upon us shine !
Help, 0 help, our weak endeavour,
Lord, to be for ever Thine !
" Thine for ever ! Thine for ever !"
Thine for ever may we be,
May no sin nor sorrow sever
Us from union, Lord, with Thee.
2 " Thine for ever ! Thine for ever ! "
Arm'd with Faith, and strong in Thee,
Ever fighting, fainting never,
May we march to victory ;
Daily in the grace increasing
Of Thy Spirit, more and more ;
Watching, praying without ceasing,
May we reach the heav'nly shore.
3 Hard the conflict ; but what glory
Is revealed to our eyes,
While we read the heavenly story
Of our home above the skies !
" Thine for ever," we are singing
Here on earth, and while we sing,
Voices in our ears are ringing,
Hymns of Angels to our King.
4 " Thine for ever ! Thine for ever ! "
May Thy face upon us shine !
Help, O help, our weak endeavour,
Lord, to be for ever Thine !
Glory be to God the Father,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Glory to the Three in One. AMEN.
2 See above Hymn 111.
382 Miscellanies.
130. HYMN FOE UNITY.
1 FATHER of all ! from land and sea
The Nations sing, " Thine, Lord, are we,
Countless in number, — but in Thee
May we be one ! "
2 0 Son of God ! Whose love so free
For men did make Thee Man to be,
United to our God in Thee
May we be one !
3 Thou, Lord, didst once for all atone ;
Thee may both Jew and Gentile own,
Of their two walls the Corner-Stone,
Making them one !
4 In Thee we are God's Israel,
Thou art the World's Emmanuel !
In Thee the Saints for ever dwell,
Millions — but one !
5 Thou art the Fountain of all good,
Cleansing with Thy most precious Blood,
And feeding us with Angels' food,
Making us one !
6 Join high with low, join young with old,
In love that never waxes cold,
Under One Shepherd, in One Fold,
Make us all one !
7 0 SPIEIT Blest ! Who from above
Cam'st gently gliding like a dove,
Calm all our strife ; give faith and love,
Oh ! make us one !
8 O Trinity in Unity,
One only God in Persons Three,
Dwell ever in our hearts ; like Thee
May we be one !
9 So, when the World shall pass away,
We may awake with joy and say,
" Now in the bliss of endless day
We all are one ! " AMEN.
131. HYMN FOR TEMPERANCE AND FOR CHURCH
OF ENGLAND SOCIETIES.
[For " Church of England Temperance Societies." Tune " Missionary"
S.P.C.K., No. 534; or " Kocker," " Hymns Ancient and Modern,"
(new Edit.) No. 224; or " Aurelia," No. 215; or " Pearshall," No.
226 ; or " Wordsworth," No. 36.]
1 O LOBD, our Strength in weakness,
We pray to Thee for grace ;
For power to fight the battle,
For speed to run the race ;
Temperance Societies. 38,
When Thy baptismal waters
Were pour'd upon our brow,
We then were made Thy children,
And pledg'd our earliest vow ;
"2 We then were seal'd and hallow'd
By Thy life-giving Word ;
Were made the SPIBIT'S temples,
And members of the LORD ;
With His own Blood He bought us,
And made the purchase sure ;
His are we ; may He keep us
Sober, and chaste, and pure.
3 Thou, GOD in Man, hast carried
Our nature up to heaven ;
And thence the HOLY SPIEIT
To dwell in us hast given ;
Join'd in that blest communion
May we so use Thy grace,
That we may come together
To that pure, happy place.
4 Conform'd to Thine own likeness
May we so live and die,
That in the grave our bodies
In holy peace may lie ;
And at the Resurrection
Forth from those graves may spring,
Like to the glorious Body
Of CHEIST our Lord and King.
5 The pure in heart are blessed,
For they shall see the LORD,
For ever and for ever
By Seraphim ador'd ;
And they shall drink the pleasures,
Such as no tongue can tell,
From the clear crystal river,
And Life's eternal well.
6 Sing therefore to the FATHER,
Who sent the Son in love ;
And sing we to the SAVIOUR
Who leads to realms above ;
Sing we with Saints and Angels
Before the Heavenly Throne,
To GOD the HOLY SPIRIT ;
Sing to the THREE in ONE. AMEN.
RELIGIOUS FAITH AND WORSHIP IN ART.
WHATEVER is beautiful in Art is from God, and tends to
God. It comes from heaven to earth, and aspires from
earth to heaven. It is born in time and lives in time, but it
yearns for Eternity. It is bounded by space, but it aims at
Infinity. In the works of Creation all genuine Art loves
and adores the Creator. In forms of human grace and
loveliness it discerns gleams of Divine beauty and glory. It
deals with objects of sense, but it nourishes Imagination,
and cherishes Faith. It acts on what is material, but it
holds converse with what is spiritual. It has to do with
what is fleeting, but looks beyond to what is eternal. It
holds, as it were, a balance between both worlds, and blends
earth with heaven. It dwells amid the changes and chances
of this mortal life, but it calms and cheers the soul by a
holy discipline, preparing it for the repose and bliss of a
joyful immortality.
In proportion as Art is conscious of its heavenly origin
and immortal destiny, and accordingly as these truths are
more fully recognized, so it may be expected to recover
from the condition of degeneracy, into which, notwith
standing some noble examples, it seems to have fallen.
With reverence be it said, the great Architect, Sculptor,
and Painter of the Universe is Almighty God. Hence the
name1 with which He was designated by the Platonic
School of Philosophy, and by the Christian Fathers. The
work of the visible Creation was designed and executed
1 Demiurgus, or worker for the people. Plato, Tim. 40 ; Kepub. 530 ;
Xenophon, Mem. 1. 49. The passages from the Fathers may be seen in
Suicer, Thes. 1. 846.
Proper end and aim of Work. 385
bj God for man, made in the Divine Image, and animated
with the Divine breath, and for woman, made (literally
builded) 2 by God out of man, and created for immortality.
Work is not the end proposed by God either to Himself
or to man. Eternity is a state of rest and felicity. This
was symbolized by God at the beginning. Each of the six
days of the week of Creation is said to have an evening as
well as morning, but the seventh day is not said to have an
evening ; and why ? because Work has an end, but the
seventh day (which alone was blessed by God) is a type of
that heavenly rest and glorious resurrection which remain
to the people of God,3 the rest of a joyful eternity.
The first great human work mentioned in Scripture
is the Ark, made by the patriarch Noah, after the directions
given him by God.4 This work was transitory, but it fore
shadowed repose. The Ark rode on the waves of the flood,
but it anchored on Arai'at, and sent forth Noah and his sons
to repeople the world; and it prefigured the Church,
tempest-tost on the billows of this world, but with a sure
hope of coming to the heavenly haven of eternal peace and
j°y-
The next ' great work, the Tabernacle and its furniture,
which occupies so large a space in the narrative of the
Pentateuch, had its origin in heaven, and from God. " See
thou make it " (He said to Moses) 5 " according to the
pattern showed to thee in the Mount." It was the abode
of God's visible presence, and it was the guide of His people
through the wilderness of Arabia to Canaan, the type of
their future rest. Though the Tabernacle was itinerant and
migratory in an earthly wilderness, it tended to what is
heavenly and eternal. It was reproduced in an ampjer
form in the stationary Temple at Jerusalem, made also after
a pattern from God ; 6 but its true Antitype is in the Body
2 Gen. ii. 22.
3 Heb. iv. 9. • Cp. S. Augustine de Civ. Dei, xxii. 30, where he speaks
of the peace of the seventh day (sabbath) consummated in the fulness of
joy of the octave of Resurrection.
4 Gen. vi. 14—16.
5 Exod. xxv. 9. Num. viii. 4. Cp. Heb.
6 1 Chron. xxviii. 11, 19.
VOL. II. 0 C
386 Miscellanies.
of Christ, and in His Church glorified for ever in heaven.
" Umbra in Lege, Imago in Evangelic, Veritas in coelo."
This is true of Art in the highest sense of the word. Art
is heaven-born, and has hopes full of immortality.
Painting and Sculpture have been called imitative arts.
But is not this a defective and disparaging definition ? It
is true that Art must be a careful student of Nature, and
not only diligently observe, but also lovingly adopt, and be
able to combine, her forms, colours, and graces skilfully and
readily. But Art is not a slave, she is freeborn ; she is not
a servile copyist: she has a creative power. Her aim is
not to deceive, but to educate, to purify, to tranquillize, to
exhilarate and to exalt. If it were the end of Art merely to
imitate, and to cheat by imitation, then a statue by Bernini
would be superior to a work of Michael Angelo, and we
should prefer a group by Teniers, or a portrait by Denner,
to a composition of Claude and Vandyke.
Servile copying is not the end of Art, but is rather its
bane. Our " Schools of Art," (as they are called) in London
and in our provincial cities, may, if well regulated, do much
to advance the cause of Art ; but unless they are on their
guard, they may also impair and injure it. Doubtless it is
their duty to encourage accuracy and precision in design,
but let their aim be much higher than this.
It would be well therefore that our Schools of Art should
be furnished with good Libraries and Picture Galleries
and Museums ; and that the students should have oppor
tunities of attending Lectures on Art (such as the Dis
courses delivered by Sir Joshua Eeynolds as President of
the Royal Academy), and also on History and Poetry, and
on the affinity between Poetry and the Fine Arts, and on
the common principles and laws which regulate them, and
lead to perfection in them all. A genuine artist is a
good man; faithful, loving, holy, and devout; his heart
is in heaven : he is educated by careful study of nature
and of antique models, and of ideal beauty; he is con
versant with poetry, history, and philosophy; he has
read much, travelled much, and thought much, and has his
7 S. Ambrose.
True Artists and Art — What is Beauty '? 387
memory stored, and his imagination warmed, with noble
deeds, and graceful forms, and beautiful scenes.
The proper function of Art is to teach, to refine, to in
vigorate, to purify and to elevate the mind by means of
what is beautiful.
But what is Beauty ? Certainly not that which merely
dazzles the eye, fascinates the sense, and excites the appe
tite, and inflames the passions, which are the baser and
coarser elements of our nature, and ought to be restrained
and controlled by the higher and nobler. If Art forgets
her true office, and ministers to what is sensual and volup
tuous, she degrades herself, and enfeebles, depraves, and
demoralizes society.
What then is Beauty? It is what the Poet calls the
"ideal form and universal mould." It is not concrete, but
abstract ; not special, but general ; it informs, spiritualizes,
and adorns whatever is lovely in life, moral, intellectual, and
artistic ; it is not transitory and fleeting, but imperishable
and eternal ; it is revealed, as it were, by inspiration to the
pure and loving heart, and to the healthful imaginative
faculty, and is what may be supposed to exist in all its per
fection in the essential archetype in the Divine Mind and in
the attributes of the Godhead itself. It is, as it were, " the
pattern shown in the mount."
This definition of Beauty is suggested by what we read
of works of Art in Holy Scripture. The history of the
Creation, of the building of the Ark, and of the Tabernacle
and Temple bear witness to it. They all came from heaven,
and tended heavenward. They were shadows of things
unseen and eternal. " Every good gift and every perfect
gift," says St. James,8 "is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights." All true Beauty is from God,
and aspires to God.
This is what is taught by the greatest of ancient philo
sophers. The language of Plato is explicit and emphatic.9
8 James i. 17.
9 Especially in his " Dialogues," the " Phsedrus," and " Symposium,"
and " Republic." " Phtedrus," pp. 247, 250, 251, 252 ; " Symposium,"
pp. 183, 210, 211 ; " Republic," Book vii. p. 517.
C c 2
388 Miscellanies.
He represents true Beauty not as earthly, perishable, and
sensuous, but heavenly, immortal, and spiritual. It is that
which, not being visible in its abstract and ideal essence by
man, but dwelling in the nature of God, imparts grace by
emanations and gleams of loveliness to all that is beautiful
in this lower world; and it is by communion with that
spiritual essence, revealing itself in forms of earthly beauty
to pure and loving hearts, and chaste imaginations, that the
mind of man is cleansed and sanctified and spiritualized, and
has visions of divinity and of eternity, and mounts to God,
and is loved by God, and partakes of His immortality.
The true function of Art is to endeavour, by a subtle
analysis, to discern this ideal beauty, and to present its
imagery to the eye by pictures of visible forms, not losing
their identity, but transfigured, and spiritualized, and bathed
in heavenly light and glory.
Such sentiments as these inspired the noblest artists, and
especially him who holds a high place as a painter, sculptor,
and architect, and also as a poet — Michael Angelo.
Let me be allowed to quote his own words in one of his
sonnets,1 in which he describes the feelings with which he
looked upon forms of earthly loveliness, and was raised by
the sight to the contemplation of what is heavenly and
divine. Let me give them as translated by one of our own
poets :" —
" No mortal object did these eyes behold,
When first they met the placid light of thine,
And my soul felt its destiny divine,
And hope of endless peace in me grew bold :
Heaven-born the soul a heavenward course must hold ;
Beyond the visible world she soars to seek
(For what delights the sense is false and weak)
Ideal form, the universal mould.
1 " Non vider gli occhi miei cosa mortale," Ac. — The Second Sonnet in
the Paris edition, 1821, p. 2.
2 Wordsworth, Sonnet xxv., in the " Collection of Sonnets," edition of
1838. This and other sonnets of Michael Angelo have been translated
by Mr. J. A. Symonds from what he supposes to be the original text, and
afford excellent illustrations of the sentiments expressed above.
True Beauty and True Love. 389
The wise man, I affirm, can find no rest
In that which perishes ; nor will he lend
His heart to aught which doth on time depend.
'Tis sense, unbridled will, and not true love,
That kills the soul : Love betters what is best,
Even here below, but more in heaven above." 3
Again, he says in another sonnet/ —
" Better plea
Love cannot have, than that in loving thee
Glory to that eternal Peace is paid
Who such divinity to thee imparts
As hallows and makes pure all gentle hearts ;
His hope is treacherous only, whose love dies
With beauty which is varying every hour ;
But in chaste hearts, uninfluenced by the power
Of outward change, there blooms a deathless flower
That breathes on earth the air of paradise."
Lest such sentiments as these should seem fantastic and
visionary, let me refer to the words of two writers, who will
not be suspected of undue enthusiasm — Winkelmann and
Sir Joshua Reynolds.
" The perfection of beauty " (says the former 5 ) " rests
only in God; and human beauty is elevated in proportion
as it approaches the idea of God, Who by unity and indivi
sibility is distinguished from what is material. This idea of
Beauty is a spiritual quintessence extracted from created
substances, as it were, by an alchemy of fire ; and is pro
duced by the imagination endeavouring to conceive what is
human existing as a prototype in the mind of God."
" Painting," says Sir Joshua,6 " is not a mere gratification
3 So, in Sonnet the Third, he says (p. 3), —
" La forza d'un bel volto al del mi sprona."
See also his Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Sonnet : —
" Per ritornar la d' onde venne fuora
L' immortal forma " (p. 100).
" Veggio nel volto tuo col pensier mio
Quel che narrar non puossi in questa vita " (p. 101).
4 Sonnet ix. p. 10. Also translated by Wordsworth, p. 28, —
" Ben puo talor col mio ardente desio
Salir la speme," &c.
5 Winkelmann, " History of the Fine Arts," Book iv. chap. ii. sect. 20.
6 Discourse iv. See also Discourse xiii., where he says, "Nothing great
390
Miscellanies.
of the sight by imitation of external nature. Such excel
lence is unworthy of regard, when the works aspire to
grandeur and sublimity. A mere copier of Nature can
never produce anything that is great, he can never raise
and enlarge the conceptions or warm the heart of the
spectator ; a genuine painter must strive for fame not by
neatness of imitation, but by captivating the imagination.
All the arts receive their perfection from an ideal beauty,
superior to what is found in individual nature.
" The genius of a true sculptor is a gift of Heaven, an
inspiration from above. As described by the ancients, he is
supposed to have ascended to the celestial region, and to
have imbued his mind with a perfect idea of beauty. An
ancient sculptor like Phidias, when he would represent a
Zeus or an Athene, did not set before him any human
pattern, but having a more perfect idea of majesty and
beauty in his own mind, he steadily contemplated this, and
earnestly endeavoured to represent it."
Let us apply these principles to the arts of design.
What is it in Architecture that excites admiration ?
It is something derived from the unseen and eternal
world, and which raises the mind upward to it.
For example, in contemplating some grand ancient Doric
Temple, such as the stately Parthenon planted on the rock
of the Athenian Acropolis, as it stood of old above the din
of the city, and above the crowd eddying in the Agora
below it; — or such as the Cathedral Church of Lincoln,
rising in majestic dignity above the smoke of the busy city
beneath it — we are moved by a delightful sensation of
something grand, solid, sublime, substantial, and enduring,
something elevated above the atmosphere of this world, and
superior to its weary cares and toils, and its restless changes
and chances; and under its influence the mind is raised
upward, and has a foretaste of future bliss, and enjoys a
calm vision of that heavenly and everlasting repose, and
has ever been effected by mechanical and servile imitation of what is
visible."
Ideal of Architecture and Sculptiire. 39 1
pure unsullied delight, which we may hope to enjoy after
the labours of this life in the blissful sabbath of Eternity.
So again, in the interior of Westminster Abbey and of
our great Cathedral Churches, the interweavings and inter-
lacings of light and shade, and the gradual revealings of
new and ever-varying vistas to the eye of the spectator, as
he advances eastward from the west door, suggest to his
imagination the feeling that there is a World ever beyond
him, and give him glimpses of Infinity.
In the grandest buildings also of the Italian style, such as
St. Paul's Cathedral, the view of the interior of the dome,
like a heaven suspended above us, especially if the vault be
adorned with beautiful forms of saints and angels floating in
the air, (as in the frescoes of Correggio in the Duomo at
Parma,) and melting away into the aerial abyss of the sky
beyond, lead the imagination upward, by means of the
architectural heaven, to the pure empyrean above, and
enable it to soar aloft to the presence and throne of God.
In Sculpture the main purpose is to produce a feeling of
calm repose and joy after energetic action. The most
famous statue of antiquity, the Apollo Belvedere, represents
this idea in perfection. He is not in action, but is con
templating, with pleasure, the effect of his own act.
The most beautiful series of sculptured figures — the
Panathenaic frieze of the Parthenon — represents a succes
sion of graceful forms on horseback, moving onward in an
ideal stream and river-like flow of beauty, in order to
present themselves in reverential homage to the Deities,
seated in serene and joyous majesty, at the end of their
career ; and in order to participate, as it were, by a spiritual
apotheosis, in their heavenly repose and divine glory, after a
course of earthly motion and human exertion — like a rapid
river flowing into the peaceful bosom of a pellucid lake.
The same may be said of the succession of Triumphal
Arches spanning the Via Sacra at Eome. The Victor stood
aloft upon their summit, in his triumphal car; this was his
transitory action, but it was action leading to repose and
joy. The Via Sacra led up to the Capitol, whether he rode
to render grateful praise to the Deity for his victory ; and
392 Miscellanies.
thus he was immortalized for ever as a Conqueror, mounting
upward to heavenly glory.
The triumphal Columns at Rome — such as that of the
Emperor Trajan — represent a similar idea of human action,
winding upward by an ever-ascending spiral of earthly
labour to a serene apex of celestial quietness and victory.
The sculptured group, in which Laocoon and his two sons
are represented as struggling to disengage themselves from
the grasp of the venomous serpents, coiling around and
strangling them, has been the subject of controversy from
the time of Winkelmann and Lessing. The noble expres
sion in the father's countenance is supposed by the former
to represent parental love and pity felt for the sufferings of
his children, and triumphing over his own pain. The latter
ascribes it to the genius7 of Greek Art shrinking from the
representation of excruciating agony.
With deference to both these great names I may perhaps
be allowed to express a doubt, whether (notwithstanding
the merits of this work extolled by Pliny the elder and
others8) it belongs to the best and purest age of Greek art,
and whether it was not rather a production of later days,
when the mind was familiarized with scenes of savage
cruelty and mortal sufferings in the gladiatorial shows of the
Roman arena.9
And here let me refer to a more sacred and solemn subject.
In the days of early Christian Art, the Cross of Christ
was naturally the symbol most dear to the heart and eye of
the faithful. But the Cross in their sight was not so much
an emblem of shame and sorrow as of victory and glory.
" In hoc signo vinces." The Cross of Christ, when viewed
by the imaginative organ of faith, was a banner of warfare,
a trophy of triumph, a royal throne, a car of victory, on
which the Saviour rode in glory to His palace in heaven.1
7 See Lessing's "Laokoon," pp. 13, 14, 41.
8 Plin. N. H. xxxvi. 5. Winkelmann, Book x. chap. i. Visconti,
" Museo Pio Clementine," ii. 255. Flaxman's Lectures, p. 95.
" M. Vale'ry (" Voyages," xiv. chap, vi.) assigns it to the time of the
earlier emperors. Lessing and others suppose that the sculptor was later
than Virgil, and imitated his description (Virg. ./En. ii. 195 — 224).
1 Cp. St. Paul's words, Col. ii. 15.
The Cross and Crucifix — Stained glass. 393
But probably no instance can be adduced earlier than the
eighth century2 of that which is now so often represented in
sculpture, — in marble and wood, — not only in churches of
foreign lands, but in crowded streets and rural waysides,
with the painful attributes of distorted features and lacerated
limbs, and blood-stained brows, in the Crucifixion.3 Early
Christian Art loved the Cross, but it shunned the Crucifix.
And was there not wisdom in this ? In the noble simplicity,
and sublime abstraction, of the Cross, the Imagination is
left free to crown sorrow and suffering with a diadem and
halo of glory. But in the Crucifix, the Imagination is con
fined by the senses, and is riveted to the contemplation
of pain and shame and death, which were only transitory,
and were the Saviour's path to the joy and glory of an
everlasting life, as He Himself says, " I am He that liveth
and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore." 4 But
to fix the mind — by means of such representations as I have
described — on the shame and sufferings of Christ, apart
from the eternal glory and infinite joy to which they led
Him, may be a snare, and may tempt men to forget the
majesty of the Godhead of Him who raised Himself from
the dead, and ascended in triumph to heaven, and is there
enthroned King of kings and Lord of lords.
Let us apply these remarks to another department of
sacred art — that of stained glass windows in churches.
' The glass stainers in ancient times acted on the principle
of leaving the outlines of their figures dimly defined and
intermingled with white glass, inviting the eye to the heaven
beyond it, so that the imagination had fair play in helping
the faith of the spectator to complete the work by an ideal
picture in his own heart and mind. But in modern days the
action of the imagination and of faith is too often fettered
2 See Mrs. Jameson " On the History of Our Lord as exemplified by
Works of Art," vol. ii. pp. 326—333. Lond. 1864.
3 M. Didron, in his valuable work " Iconographie Chretienne," gives
numerous examples of the Cross in all its varieties (pp. 356, 370, 372, 374,
399), but not one of the Crucifix. There is an admirable sonnet of Cam-
panella (translated by Mr. J. A. Symonds) expressing similar sentiments
as to the Crucifix, beginning " Se sol sei ore," &c.
« Rev. i. 18.
394 Miscellanies.
and paralyzed, and the mind is overpowered by brilliant
transparencies, stereotyping upon it common-place forms,
and haunting the memory with prosaic and vulgar repre
sentations of sacred persons and subjects, which ought to be
veiled in mystery and to be idealized with reverential awe.
The principles now stated may be applied also to Land
scape-painting and to Portrait-painting.
What is it that imparts a charm to the mellow tints of
sunset in the pictures of Claude or Turner, and to the rich
foliage of the trees, and to the quiet bridge over the flowing
river, and to the cattle reflected in the water, and to the
old ivy-mantled tower or ruined temple, and to the calm
expanse of the broad lake, and to the delicate hues of aerial
distance melting away into infinity ? Is it not the feeling
that under the influence of objects like these we are trans
ported from the petty cares and brief sorrows of to-day to a
far-off age, and to a distant land of an ideal Arcadia, a
poetical Elysium, a spiritual Paradise ?
" Soul-soothing Art," the poet may well say, — •
" That gives
To moments caught from fleeting Time
The appropriate calm of blest Eternity."
So it is also with Portrait-painting. At the present day
by the general use of Photography (very valuable in repre
senting buildings and in reproducing manuscripts), Portrait-
painting is in danger of being degraded to the low level
and servile drudgery of endeavouring to execute facsimiles.
It does not portray the mind by means of the mind, but
(may we not rather say ?) it copies a machine by the help of
a machine. It therefore fails of producing a real likeness.
For a man is not what he seems to the eye to be at a par
ticular moment of his existence, seized upon by the spas
modic shock of a mechanical process, but what he is in his
generalized essence as discerned by the intuitive genius of
the Artist. The genuine Portrait-painter will indeed be
careful to preserve the personal identity of the subject, but
he penetrates below the surface into the inner recesses of
the mind. And although his art is affected by conditions of
Ideal of Painting — Modern degeneracy, 395
time and space, it goes beyond the limits of both, and
reveals some gleams of eternity. May we not say that, by
means of his portraits, he will suggest to us some faint
glimmerings of what a beloved form may be imagined to be
in a holier and happier world, when transfigured into a
heavenly body by the power and love of Christ ? °
May I now offer some practical observations ?
The condition of Art in a country depends on the cha
racter of the People. The great heathen Nations of Antiquity
may well put us to shame in this respect. With them Art was
a part of Religion, and Religion was allied with Patriotism.
If a Colony was to be planted in a far-off land, the first thing
they did was to build a magnificent Temple. The great
Temples still standing at Paestum,. in Italy, and at Selinunte,
Segeste, and Girgenti, in Sicily, are monuments of their
national genius and piety. When Athens recovered from
the incendiary ravages of the Persian invasion, the first
thing she did was to rebuild the Parthenon, her great
national temple, in greater splendour than before. With
them the temples of the deities were their national palaces,
and the houses of their nobles were comparatively like
' cottages and huts.6
It is a humiliating question for ourselves, Has any great
Cathedral Church been erected by the English nation — the
richest nation in the world— in any one of her own colonies ?
Look again at some of our national monuments. One
example may suffice. Look at the equestrian statue of the
great hero of our age, the Duke of Wellington, on the
Arch of triumph opposite Apsley House. What a con
fusion of ideas does it display ! A Roman conqueror was
well placed on a triumphal car, on a triumphal Arch, over
the Via Sacra which led up to the Capitol, whither he had
5 Phil. iii. 21.
e « Privatus illis census erat brevis.
Commune magnum."
Horat. 2 Od. xv. 15.
The remark of Demosthenes on the house of Miltiades and other great
men, not distinguishable from other habitations, may occur to the reader.
396 Miscellanies.
gone in a triumphal procession to render thanks to heaven
for his victory ; and thus his victory and his triumph were
perpetuated by Architecture and Sculpture in the triumphal
Arch, and in the triumphal Car. But the hero of Waterloo
is represented on horseback, on the top of the Arch, and he
is crossing the road, and not going along it. Thus the
spectator is reminded of the triumphal Arches at Rome,
but only to distress him by a strange combination of artistic
incongruities and architectural and sculptural solecisms.
With a few splendid exceptions, the public works of
Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in our own age, one of
boundless wealth and lavish prodigality in personal self-
indulgence, can hardly bear comparison, as to true genius
and feeling, even with those of the petty Italian states of
Pisa, Florence, Genoa, and Venice ; to say nothing of the
works of ancient artists, which even in their ruined and
fragmentary state are still models to ourselves.
May I refer also to illustrated works of education ? Think
of the grotesque and monstrous caricatures which disfigure
many of the books placed in the hands of our children.
How can they ever learn to appreciate and love what is
really graceful and beautiful in Art, when their minds are
prematurely depraved and corrupted by familiarity with
what is hideous or ludicrous ?
But let us hope for better things. And that this hope
may be realized, let Art be inindful of her high calling.
Her office, like that of Poetry, is to teach,7 to educate,
elevate, adorn, to enlighten, cheer, refine, and purify
society. A true artist is a good man.8 He regards his
art with reverence. May we not say that he will not con
sider himself as a mechanic toiling in a workshop, but rather
as a prophet and priest, ministering in the natural Temple
of the Universe for the glory of God and the welfare of
mankind ?
No study, however severe, both of nature and the best
7 Hence the word " maestro " (master, teacher), designating a painter,
sculptor, or architect.
H Sir Joshua Reynolds says (" Discourses," vii. p. 141), " The good and
virtuous man alone can acquire a true and just relish of works of art."
Ideal of the true Artist. 397
models, is superfluous in so noble a profession. No industry
however unrelaxing, no observation however vigilant, no
accuracy however minute and precise, are to be dispensed
with. But these will be unavailing without a spirit of moral
self- dedication. He will labour not only with the eye and
the hand, but with the mind, the soul, and the heart. And
therefore he will be conscious of the need of Divine grace,
and of inspiration from above. The artists of the Taber
nacle, which was made after the pattern in the heavenly
mount, were Bezaleel and Aholiab. There is a spiritual
meaning in their names. Bezaleel means one who dwells
in the shadow of God. And he was the son of Z7n, which
means light. The true artist dwells tinder the shadow of
the wings of Divine Glory and Beauty, and he is a child of
heavenly light. And Aholiab means, the Father is my
Tabernacle. The Father of Light dwells, as in a shrine, in
the heart of the true artist.9 Both of these artists of the
Tabernacle worked after the pattern which God showed to
Moses in the mount. The true artist is a Bezaleel, and an
Aholiab'; he labours to produce forms of ideal, heavenly
beauty. Both those artists are said in Holy Scripture to
have been ".filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and
understanding and knowledge, in all manner of workman
ship." The true artist seeks for the gift of the Holy Spirit
in the means of grace. He seeks it in holy books, in noble
histories, in sublime poems, such as those of Homer,
^Eschylus, Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton; he seeks it
especially in the Bible. The Bible was the manual of
Michael Angelo. The true artist seeks for it in Prayer, and
in the Holy Communion. Michael Angelo's sonnet on the
need of grace, and on its gift in prayer, is one of the most
beautiful productions of that great poet and artist.1 It
9 Aholiab was the Son of Ahisamach (a brother of support), of the
tribe of Dan ; and this union with Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, seems
also to be significant.
1 Sonetto liii. p. 120 :—
" Ben sarian dolci le preghiere mie " —
translated by Wordsworth, No. xxvi. of his Miscellaneous Sonnets, and
also by Mr. Symonds. See also the interesting devotional Sonnet, No. Ivi.,
398 Miscellanies.
is recorded of one of the holiest, purest, and most admirable
painters of sacred subjects — Fra Angelico da Fiesole — that
he never took his pencil into his hand without breathing
forth a prayer,2 and .that he never painted the Saviour on
the Cross without having his eyes bedimmed with tears.
The true Artist will scorn to minister food to the sensual
appetite by unchaste pictures, such as too often marred and
debased the works of the Venetian school, and enfeebled the
manly vigour of the Venetian republic ; but he will labour
in a spirit of pure and holy love. It was said of a great
Artist that he would as soon put his name to a forgery as to
a caricature. In all that is beautiful in earthly forms he will
see visions and images of heavenly glory. Earth will be to
him a mirror of Heaven. And he will enable others to see
reflections of heaven in the creations of his own genius.
The fleeting things of Time will be to him shadows of
Eternity. His Art will be a Eeligion. It will be consecrated
and Christianized, and be full of happiness and joy; and it
will prepare him by holy discipline to " behold the King in
His beauty,"3 and to contemplate for ever the Lord of
glory, and to recognize in Him a consummation of all that
he has seen of loveliness in this lower world, and to have a
full fruition of those " things which eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, and which
God hath prepared for them that love Him."4
The following Prayer, offered up by the Bishop of Lin
coln on the occasion of the opening of the " Midland Counties
written by Michael Angelo in the 83rd year of his age, and sent by him
to Vasari, —
" Giunto e gia il corso della vita mia ; "
(Vasari, " Vite de Pittori," iii. 179), translated by J. S. Harford, p. 67 of
his interesting volume of the " Poetry of Michel Angelo," 1857.
2 See his life in Vasari, i. 265. It was a saying of his, " Chi fa cose
di Cristo, deve star sempre con Cristo," and " Dal Creatore perfettissimo
e bellissimo nasce ogni perfezione e bellezza."
8 Isaiah xxxiii. 17. 4 Isaiah Ixiv. 4, 1 Cor. ii. 9.
Museum of Art, Nottingham. 399
Art Museum " at Nottingham Castle by their Koyal High
nesses the PRINCE and PRINCESS of WALES on Wednesday,
July 3, 1878, may be added here :—
ALMIGHTY GOD, Maker of all things, Giver of all good
gifts, we praise and thank Thee for prospering This our
Work, and we pray for Thy Blessing upon it. Grant that
this MUSEUM of AKT may be a TEMPLE for Thee. Vouchsafe
to enlighten our eyes with the Holy Spirit, that in all works
of human skill, and in all forms of earthly loveliness, we
may discern gleams of Divine beauty, and see revelations of
heavenly glory ; so that in all things, loving, adoring, and
serving Thee, with minds sanctified, and hearts purified, we
may finally come to the everlasting light and unspeakable
joy of Thy heavenly presence, and to the perfect vision of
Thy glorious Godhead, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Also the following Hymn, written by the Bishop for the
same Museum, a magnificent work on a noble site, and
due, in a great measure, to the exertions of the Mayor of
Nottingham, the late Mr. W. G. WARD : —
0 THOU, Whose Power and Love have reared
This universal frame,
And decked the Earth, and Sky, and Sea,
How glorious is Thy Name !
All Beauty is a gleam of heaven,
All Love a gift of grace ;
All forms of noblest Art reveal
Bright visions of Thy Face.
Wise Architects and Sculptors work
With joy at Thy command ;
Thine are the spirit and the skill
Which guide the Painter's hand.
400 Miscellanies.
May all their labours, wrought in faith
And love, by Thee be blest ;
And may they lead to heavenly bliss,
And everlasting rest !
Bless Thou the work * we now design
For Thine own glory, Lord ;
A Treasure-house of beauty rare,
From Thine own bounty pour'd.
Crowning the hill above our homes,
A Beacon may it be,
To guide us to our home in heaven ; —
A Temple, Lord, to Thee !
Praise God, the Maker of the World,
Adore ye God the Son ;
And praise we God the Holy Ghost;
Eternal Three in One.
Amen.
5 The Castle Museum, Nottingham.
CHRISTIAN ART IN CEMETERY CHAPELS.
LET me take this opportunity of suggesting an inquiry
whether great benefits might not be conferred by Art on
Keligion, by improvements in the adornment of our Ceme
teries, which are now being largely multiplied, and especially
of their Mortuary Chapels.
The following remarks relate to that subject, —
To F. MERGER, ESQ., Chairman of the Burial
Board, Gainsborough.
MY DEAR SIR,
When I had the pleasure of being with you a short
time ago at Gainsborough, for the consecration of a portion
of the new Cemetery there, I was much struck with the
beauty of its situation, especially of the Mortuary Chapel.
It seemed to me that by judicious management it might be
made a pattern and model to other Cemeteries in this county
and diocese.
With a view to this end, I ventured to submit for your
consideration, and for that of the Burial Board at which you
preside, whether the chapel then consecrated by me might
not be made conducive to Christian instruction and Christian
consolation, by means of appropriate adornment, representing
Scriptural subjects and Scriptural emblems, illustrative of
the great doctrines of our common Faith and Hope in the
Divine Teaching of God's Holy Word concerning death,
burial, resurrection, and immortality. Such representations
would, I conceive, serve to relieve the present coldness and
dreariness of the interior, and also would supply fit, solemn,
and consolatory subjects for the meditation of Christian
VOL. 11. D d
4O2 Miscellanies.
mourners, who come to the chapel for the purpose of con
signing the last remains of their departed friends and
relatives to the grave.
I now beg leave to lay this proposal before you, and
request the favour of your communicating it to the Burial
Board. It would, of course, be understood that if the
Board sanctions the proposal, no part of the expense of
carrying it into effect should fall on the funds at their
disposal, but that it should be defrayed entirely by voluntary
subscriptions, and that the plans for executing it should be
submitted to them for their approval.
I am, my dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
C. LINCOLN.
Riseholme, Lincoln, 2Gth Oct. 1875.
Gainsborough, 9th Nov., 1875.
MY LORD,
I had the honour to read your letter of last week to
me, at a meeting of the Burial Board yesterday, and the
following resolution was unanimously passed : — " That the
Chairman be requested to thank the Bishop for his letter
relating to the decoration of the consecrated chapel, and to
say that the Board has pleasure in acquiescing in the
Bishop's proposal, but fears that as the walls are new, there
may be some difficulty in carrying this out successfully at
present."
It addition to this feeling expressed as above, it was
thought by some members of the Board, that it would be
invidious if we did not sanction and lead in something to be
done similarly in the unconsecrated chapel ; and I was to
ask you if you thought that one subscription list for both
could be entertained, or at least that two lists could lie side
by side for people to give to one or both, as they might be
inclined.
If you can make any suggestion to meet this feeling, I am
sure the Board would appreciate it.
I was also to mention that the chapels are not supplied
with any warming apparatus, and therefore will not be
Adornment of English Cemeteries. 403
always dry. Should not therefore any decorative work be
done on zinc or copper ? or else it will stand very little time.
Thanking you for your last letter, and hoping to hear
from you in reply to this at your leisure,
I beg to remain, my Lord,
Yours faithfully,
FLETCHER MERCER, Jun.
To the Right Rev. the Bishop of Lincoln.
In the Preface to the second edition of a Sermon preached
by me in Westminster Abbey, July 5th, 1875, on Crema
tion or the Burning of the Body, the subject is thus further
developed —
A nobler design cannot be conceived than this, for the
exercise of the best faculties of Christian Art and Christian
Archaeology, as well as of the purest aspirations of Christian
Faith, Hope, and Love. We do not expect nor require such
intense energy of devotion as that which freighted fifty
galleys with earth from Jerusalem and brought it across the
Mediterranean to the consecrated enclosure of the Campo
Santo at Pisa, in the year 1228. But we have need of the
consecration of Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting for
such a purpose as this. Why should not a Giovanni of Pisa
arise among us to execute a design for an English Campo
Santo ? Why should not a Nicholas of Pisa be associated
with him, by congenial works of Christian Sculpture ? Why
should not English Orgagnas come forth and adorn the walls
of its cloistral arcades with frescoes, representing such
sacred subjects as are found in the Catacombs, and which
speak of Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension, and
which, while they charm the eye, cheer the heart of the
spectator ?
Might not also some noble Church be erected in con
nexion with the holy precincts, and add fresh beauty and
sanctity to it, as the Campo Santo at Pisa derived a solemn
dignity from its association with the group of sacred build
ings near it, the graceful Baptistery, the mysterious Cam
panile, and the majestic Cathedral ?
Why should not we be allowed to profit now by such
D d 2
404 Miscellanies.
helps of the Painter's pencil, as enabled the early Christian
to read the histories of the Old Testament by the light of
the New, and as shed gleams of glory on the darkness of the
Grave, illumined by the rays of the Gospel ? l Why should
not our Cemeteries reproduce the Christian teaching of the
ancient Catacombs ? How wise and instructive was the Art,
— however untutored and rude in design and execution, —
which, when it had represented the work of Sin and Death
in our first Parents Adam and Eve standing at the inter
dicted Tree, and driven from Paradise, — proceeded to plant
near it, as its spiritual antithesis, the Second Adam, bearing
our Sins on the Tree of the Cross, and tasting that Death
which has its fruits to us in Everlasting Life. How happy
were the inspirations of the Artists, who painted the frescoes
of the Catacombs, in the consolation they ministered to
Christian mourners, by placing before them the Ark on the
waves of the Flood, and the Dove bringing to the patriarch
Noah the green olive-branch of Peace, the pledge of the
cessation of the waters, and thus suggesting to them the
cheering assurance that the beloved ones, who had passed
through the dark waters of Death, were now safe and at rest;
and that there would be peace also for themselves, remaining
in the Ark of Christ's Church, however tempest-tost it might
be. Why should not we be stimulated to acts of faith and
holy obedience, and be comforted with hopes of a blessed
Resurrection, by contemplating such scenes, — frequently
recurring in the Catacombs, — as Isaac bearing the wood,
and Abraham stretching out his hand to offer up his son,
and receiving him again in a figure,* — a type of Christ's
Death and Resurrection ? Joseph cast into the pit, and into
prison, and afterwards raised to princely eminence in
Egypt ; Jonah, throwing himself into the sea, and emerging
from it after his three days' burial; the three children
1 On the Christian teaching of the Catacombs by such representations
as are noticed here, see Aringhi Roma Subterranea, ed. Arnem, 1671,
pp. 276, 289, 292, 318, 360, 382, 415, 444, 477, 582 ; and Burgon's very
interesting and instructive Letters from Home, Letter xix. and xx., and
the great work of De Rossi, and the useful Manuel de
Chre'tienne, by Edmond Le Blant, Paris, 1869.
' Heb. xi. 11.
Christian Art teaching in the Catacombs, 405
walking at ease in the flames of the fiery furnace at Babylon,
with one at their side like the Son of God; the aged prophet
Daniel, sitting in the calmness of faith amid the awe-struck
lions in the den; the translation of Enoch and Elijah after a
brave ministry, in evil days, to a life of everlasting glory —
such were some of the artistic sermons and picturesque homi
lies which preached lessons of faith, patience, and courage,
to the eyes and hearts of the Christians, amid the solemn
stillness of the Graves of their relatives and friends, and over
the mortal remains of Saints and Martyrs, who had passed
through suffering to glory. Would not Christian Art be as
willing and able to minister to Christian Faith in our days,
as it was in those of our forefathers in the Church ?
The New Testament also acquired a living freshness by
means of the Painter's skill, applied to the adornment of the
Catacombs. The Sower, sowing his seed, was a spiritual
preacher, not only because he brought to mind the practical
interpretation of the parable by the Lord Himself,3 as to
the Seed of the Word, sown in the soil of the heart by the
Divine Sower, and our consequent human responsibilities,
but also because 'by approximation to scenes of Death and
Burial, he suggested the analogy supplied by Christ and
His Apostles, that the Grave itself is a seed-plot, in which
the bodies of the faithful are sown by Him, to be raised to a
harvest of Glory. The Good Shepherd also — that por
traiture so dear to the Ancient Church — how cheering was
his work, in bearing the lambs safely in his bosom, and
leading his Sheep through the deep and dark ravines and
rocky defiles of the desert, and recalling to the mind the
words of the Psalmist,4 " The Lord is my Shepherd, there
fore can I lack nothing : — Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with
me, Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me." The parable of the
Wise Virgins, — the raising of Lazarus from the grave by the
voice of Christ ; these also ministered their proper warning
and encouragement ; and the figure of the Fish, bespeaking
our union in Christ, begun in the waters of baptism;5 and
3 Matt. xiii. 19. 1 Cor. xv. 42. 4 Ps. xxiii, 1—4.
5 See above, vol. i. p. 92.
406 Miscellanies.
the burning Heart, aspiring upwards with a flame of pure
love to Him; the Cross and the Anchor, the emblem of
hope, and of tranquil rest in Christ ; the monogram Y
(Chi Rho), enclosed in a circle, and the A and ft (Alpha and
Omega), declaring that Christ is "all in all/' "the Beginning
and the End," to the believer; and the Palm-branch of
victory, — these were significant symbols, which supplied
abundant food for religious meditation.
St. Jerome 8 tells us that when he was a boy at school in
Rome, he used to go with his comrades on Sundays to the
Catacombs, and to visit the tombs of Apostles and Martyrs
there, and to thread the intricate subterranean labyrinths,
hallowed on each side by sepulchres; and we may well
believe that the spiritual teaching, which he thence derived,
made a deep impression on his mind, and did much to qualify
him for that work which he afterwards performed as an
Expositor of Holy Scripture, and as a Doctor of the Church
of Christ. What Sunday School in the world could do
more for a devout and meditative mind than the ancient
Cemeteries of Rome ? Why should not our English Ceme
teries endeavour to do a similar work ?
Excursions from our great cities to such Cemeteries as
these might be like Christian pilgrimages; especially for
those who would visit the graves of their own relatives
there, and look at the places where they themselves would
one day be laid at rest by their side, after the ^roubles of
this transitory life.
* St. Jerome, in Ezck. cap. x.
ON CREMATION, OR BURNING OF THE BODY;
AND ON BURIAL.
FOB eighteen hundred years, the Holy Ghost, speaking
in the Gospel in the Churches of Christendom, has com
memorated the reverential love of Mary of Bethany for the
human Body of her Divine Lord.
Full of gratitude to Him, Who by His divine power had
raised the body of her brother Lazarus from the grave, she
performed an act of reverential affection to Christ's Body,
a week before it lay in the Tomb. That act is declared by
Him to have been dictated by a holy instinct, and heavenly
inspiration — " She did it for My burial." She foresaw the
future, and acted from the foresight ; and when some of the
disciples blamed that act, as one of thriftless waste, and
Judas asked, " Why was not this ointment sold for three
hundred pence, and given to the poor ? " * our Lord inter
fered to plead her cause, and commended her example to
posterity, and said, " Wheresoever this Gospel shall be
preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this
woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her/'2
The same Divine Spirit has recorded in each of the four
Gospels the affectionate solicitude of Joseph of Arimathea
for the honourable burial of that Body in his own new
tomb ; and Nicodemus is also commemorated in Scripture
as his associate in that holy work.
After our Lord's Resurrection and Ascension into heaven,
and after the gift of the Holy Ghost to the faithful, the Church
of Christ is described in Holy Writ as paying special regard
to the Burial of the Dead.
1 John xii. 5. 2 Matt. xxvi. 13.
408 Miscellanies.
The body of the first Martyr, St. Stephen, was taken
up by devout men and carried to the grave.3 When Dorcas
died at Joppa, her body was washed and laid in an upper
chamber,4 and St. Peter was sent for, and he raised her
again to life. »
Such acts as these were practical results of faith in the
doctrines of Christianity. They were produced by belief
that the Son of God has taken the nature of Man, and has
consecrated the human body by His Incarnation, and that
we are not our own, but have been bought with a price ;
and that He purchased us, both in soul and body, by
His own blood ; 5 and that He has lain, in a human body,
in the Grave, and has hallowed the Tomb ; and that by His
Divine Power He raised His Human Body to life eternal,
and has carried His glorified humanity above the stars, and
is now set down in that Body at the right hand of God;
and that He will come hereafter in that Body, and be seen
by all.8 " The hour is coming," He Himself said, " when
all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come
forth/'7 to receive from Him their final doom for everlasting
bliss or woe.
By the Incarnation of Christ the Body of Man became a
shrine for the Godhead. Humanity received a spiritual
unction in Him from the Holy Ghost ; and by the gift of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the Church, and by the
baptismal incorporation of the faithful into Christ, Very
God and Very Man, the body of the Christian has become,
as St. Paul declares, "a temple of the Holy Ghost,"3 "a
member of Christ," ' and " a partaker of the divine nature ; " '
and by feeding on Him in the Holy Eucharist, and by com
munion with Him Who is " the Resurrection and the Life,"2
we are joined together with one another, and with the saints
of every age and clime, as fellow- members of Him Who is
the Head of His Body the Church,3 which is the blessed
3 Acts viii. 2. < Acts ix. 37.
s 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20 ; vii. 23.
6 Kev. i. 7. 7 John v. 28.
8 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17 ; vi. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 16.
<> 1 Cor. vi. 15. » 2 Pet i. 4.
- John xi. 25. 3 Eph. i. 23. Col. i. 18.
Reverential care of the Body. 409
company of all faithful people ; and we have a promise and
pledge from Him that our bodies will be raised up at the
last day, and will inherit eternal life,4 and will be fashioned
so as to be like Christ's glorious Body,5 such as it was seen
at His Transfiguration, and such as it appeared whe'n it went
up into heaven.
The reverential and affectionate care of the human body
after death is the fruit of belief in these doctrines of
Christianity.
It is true that in this respect, as in many others, what
Christianity did, was to shed more light on primeval reve
lation, and to impart greater force to those mandates
which God Himself had given to man at the beginning.6
Almighty God created Adam from the earth; and His
sentence to Man after the Fall was, "In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ;
for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return."7 For four thousand years this
utterance was interpreted by the faithful to be a divine
oracle for the Burial of the Dead. Holy men of old fell
asleep in death, and were laid in the bosom of their Mother
Earth ; 8 in a blessed hope, to which Job the patriarch and
prophet of the human race has given utterance, " I know
that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth : and though after my skin worms
destroy this Body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : Whom
I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, and not
another." 9
Actuated by such feelings as these, the devout Patriarchs
were very solicitous for the Burial of the Bodies of their
friends and relatives, and of their own.
The Holy Spirit had surely in His divine mind an im
portant purpose, for the instruction of all ages, when He
* John vi. 54. 5 Phil. iii. 21.
6 See Minucius Felix, cap. 34. " Non ullum damnum sepulturse
timemus, sed veterem et meliorem humandi consuetudinem frequen-
tamus."
i Gen. iii. 19. 8 Cp. Job i. 21.
» Job xix. 25—27.
4io Miscellanies.
took care to describe, with minute precision, the tender
thoughtfulness of Abraham, the father of the faithful, for
the Burial of his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah ; '
and, with a similar design, He has recorded the charge
which Jacob gave in Egypt, with the solemnity of an oath,
for the Burial of his own body in the grave which he had
made for himself in the land of Canaan,2 by the side of
the bodies of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah,
and of his own wife Leah.3 And it was not surely without
a meaning that the Holy Spirit has taken pains to narrate
fully how this command was complied with, by his dutiful
son Joseph ; * and how, in his turn, Joseph strictly charged
his brethren, that .when they returned from Egypt to
Canaan, they should carry his mortal remains with them,
and bury them in the promised land ; a charge which was
punctually fulfilled by Moses, bearing them out of Egypt,
and during the forty years' pilgrimage in the wilderness,5
and after him by Joshua, depositing them in a grave in
Canaan.6
Such was the anxious care of faithful men of old for the
burial of the body. And not a single instance can be cited
from the Old Testament where any other modrf of disposing
of the body of a holy man after death is recorded, than that
of Burial.7 To be unburied is described in Holy Writ as
one of the most ignominious punishments,8 and to burn a
dead body was an act of barbarism.9
Among heathen nations the practice was different. The Re
surrection of the body was not an article of their creed.1 Yet,
1 Gen. xxiii. 2 Gen. 1. 5. 3 Gen. xlix. 29—31 ; 1. 5.
« Gen. 1. 4—13. * Exod. xiii. 19.
6 Joshua xxiv. 32. Acts vii. 15, 16.
7 The case of Saul and Jonathan is not an exception — see 1 Sam. xxxi.
12, 13 ; 2 Sam. ii. 4. As to the Hebrew usage generally, see Tacitus,
Histor. v. 5.
8 1 Kings xiv. 11 ; xvi. 4 ; xxi. 23, 24. Jer. viii. 2 ; xvi. 4. 6 ; xxii. 19 ;
xx vi. 23. Ezek. xxix. 6.
9 Amos ii. 1.
1 See JEschyl. Eumen. 655. Soph. Elect. 136. Nor was it the creed
even of any of the philosophers, as Tertullian distinctly asserts, de Pre
script. Haeret. c. 7.
Cremation. 411
even with them, to remain unburied was regarded as a great
calamity.2 They were often engaged in foreign wars ; and to
bury the bodies of their friends among strangers and enemies
was to expose them to indignity and outrage. They there
fore burnt their corpses, and carried their ashes with them
in funeral urns, to their own homes.3
Yet we find that among the Eomans (though burning
is mentioned in the Twelve Tables) Burial was the most
ancient usage.4 Witness the tombs of the Scipios.8 The
introduction of the practice of burning was due to the Civil
Wars. The first of the great Cornelian family who was
burnt was Sylla; and he gave orders to this effect, in order
that his remains might not be exhumed, and be treated
with the same vindictive indignity with which he had dis
honoured the body of his rival Marius. In consequence of
the feuds of the living, Burial of the dead had become
obsolete when Christianity was first preached in the Roman
Empire, and it was the general custom to burn them.6
We do not read that any laws were enacted by Imperial
Rome 7 for the alteration of the treatment of the human
body after death ; but the fact is, that though, as I have
said, the practice of burning prevailed throughout it, yet,
under the silent influence of Christianity, this custom
gradually disappeared, till at length, in the earlier part of
2 See Homer, Odyss. x. 66 — 72. Cp. Horat. I. Carm. xxviii. 36.
3 ,33schyl. Agamemnon, 426, ed. Blomfield. Homer, Iliad vii. 333.
4 Cicero, de Legibus, ii. 22 ; and Pliny says, N. H. vii. 55, that it
was not the practice of the ancient Romans to burn the body, but to bury
it ; and that burning was due to wars foreign and domestic, and to the
fear of disinterment by enemies.
6 Formerly on the Appian Way, but transferred in the year 1780 to
the Vatican Museum.
By a remarkable coincidence the vestiges of three different eras of
Sepulture present themselves to the tourist at Eome, within a short
distance of one another, on the Via Appia.
(1) The place of the Tombs of the Scipios, who were buried.
(2) Three Columbaria (in the Vigna Codini) with cinerary urns con
taining ashes of many of the household of the Caesars.
(3) The "Ccemeterium Callisti," containing the bodies of Ancient
Koman Bishops. See above, vol. i. p. 254 — 256.
6 Tacitus, Annal. xvi. 6.
7 Cp. Bingham, Antiq,, Book xxiii. chap. ii. sect. 4.
4 1 2 Miscellanies.
the fifth century it vanished altogether, and Burial became
universal.6
This is one of the remarkable social revolutions effected
by the Gospel in the history of Mankind.
The decent Burial of the dead was due (as I have ob
served) to belief in the Death, Burial, Resurrection, and
Ascension of Christ, Very Man and Very God ; and in the
doctrine of the engrafting of the faithful into His Mystical
Body, and of the efficacy of the Holy Sacraments, and of
the Resurrection of the Flesh, and of the future everlasting
happiness of the glorified body, made like unto Christ's
Body ; and in the doctrine of the continuance of every man's
personal identity, both in body and soul, for eternity.
Faith in these doctrines produced the affectionate regard
which was shown by Christians for the bodies of their
departed friends, even in times of pestilence, at the risk of
their own lives ; 9 and the heroic care of Christians for their
deceased friends, and the decent interment of their bodies,
produced a powerful effect on the minds of the Heathen, and
did much to convert them to Christianity. The Christian
Burial of the dead had great influence in raising the heathen
from the death of sin to new life in Christ.
More than fourteen hundred years in succession have
passed away, since the flames of funeral piles, which once
blazed in all parts of the Roman Empire, have been extin
guished by Christianity. But now it is proposed by some
to rekindle them in London and in other great cities of
Christendom.1 And we are assured that on the grounds of
public health and public economy, this is necessary.
8 Macrobius, Saturn, vii. 7 : " Urendi corpora defunctorum usus nostro
sseculo nullus." Cp. Bishop Pearson's excellent remarks, on the Creed,
Art. iv. ; and especially the beautiful Hymn of Prudentius (one of the
most interesting remains of ancient Christian Hymnology, Cathemer x.,
' Hymnus ad exequias defuncti,' p. 58, ed. Dressel), where he shows that
the sacred rites of Burial are due to the special doctrines of Christianity,
and are visible and practical witnesses and exponents of them ; see e. g.
v. 45. &c., v. 54, &c., v. 121, &c.
9 Euseb. Hist. Eccl. vii. 22, where the conduct of the Heathen under
the same circumstances is contrasted with that of the Christians.
1 See Sir Henry Thompson on Cremation, London, 1874. Professor
Arguments for Cremation considered. 413
What shall we say here ?
Let it be allowed, that the Burial of the Dead ought never
to be a cause of injury to the living ; and that this is a
question which concerns the living rather than the dead ;
and that it ought to be decided in such a manner as to
conduce to their greatest good. It matters little to the
faithful departed, whether his body is consigned to the
earth, or to the flames, or to the sea, or scattered to the
winds. The beggar Lazarus, whose body was probably cast
into a charnel-house, was happier immediately after death
than the rich man who was buried in a magnificent tomb.
No funeral, however costly, can profit a sinner; and no
treatment, however dishonourable, can injure a saint.2
The welfare of the living, in the largest sense of the term,
is what is to be considered here.
The human body after death passes through a process of
corruption. The philosopher may speak to us of the noxious
gases, the deadly carbonic acid, exhaled by its putrefaction,
but at the same time he will not deny that by a merciful
provision made by the God of nature, the body moulders
gently into its congenial dust, and these gases are absorbed
by vegetables, shrubs, and trees (especially the Eucalyptus)
with which cemeteries are planted, and to wliich they impart
vigour and luxuriance, and thus the atmosphere may be
purified. The Christian knows the reason of that corrup
tion. It is a consequence of the fall of man ; it is the fruit
of sin j and it is well that we should be reminded of this,
and act upon the recognition of the corruption of the body
as inherited from Adam, as well as on the hope of glory,
J. P. Trusen, in his work on Leichen-Verbrennung, Breslau, 1855, would
make burning of the dead to be imperative everywhere, pp. 327 — 335 ;
and the author of another German publication (Wegmann-Ercolani, " Die
Leichen-Verbrennung also rationellste Bestattungs-Art," 4th ed. Zurich,
1874) says, p. 5, " That the cause of Burning the dead has already made
a triumphant progress through the civilized world." It is time, therefore,
that its claims should be examined. See Note at end of this paper, p. 420.
2 Cp. the remarks of St. Augustine, " De cura pro mortuis gerenda ''
(vol. vi., p. 869, ed. Paris, 1837), who fully admits this, and shows the
benefits that the living derive from the decent burial of the dead: — " Ista
omnia'' (he says) " curatio funeris, conditio sepulturse, pompa exequiarum,
niagis sunt solatia vivorum quam subsidia mortuorum."
414 Miscella nies.
prepared for it through Christ. Christian Burial of the
dead has ever before its eyes the first Adam, and the Second
Adam ; Corruption from the one, Glory from the other ; and
it is regulated accordingly. Corruption from Adam, and
Incorruption through Christ, are the two poles on which it
moves. " The first man is of the earth, earthy, the Second
Man is the Lord from Heaven; and as we have borne the
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly."3
On account of the corruption of the first Adam, Burials in
Churches and Churchyards of populous cities, have been
justly prohibited by Law, with some exceptions, such as
funerals in Westminster Abbey, which (even in a far higher
sense than the tombs of great men at Rome in the Campus
Martius, and on the banks of the Tiber,4 and than the
sepulchres of the mighty dead of Athens, whose virtues were
panegyrized by Pericles, in the fairest suburb of the city * )
are productive of great public good to the living, as con
secrating national virtue and national genius, knowledge,
art, and skill, by embracing them all in the bosom of the
Church; and as cherishing the heroic spirit of Patriotism
and Loyalty, and as continuing the tradition of our national
life, by means of the Burial of the illustrious dead of Eng
land in that glorious sanctuary for more than eight hundred
years.
Let it be also allowed, that one of the reasons pleaded for
burning the body instead of burying it, namely, the heavy
expense of funerals, especially in cities, deserves considera
tion. The cost of funerals in the Metropolis is calculated at
about a million a year, and ought certainly to be reduced by
the adoption of simpler, but not less religious, modes of
interment.6
I will not here enter into the details of another economy,
3 1 Cor. xv. 47, 41.
* See the beautiful lines of Virgil concerning the tomb of Marcellus.
Ma. vi. 873.
6 The Kerameikos. Thucyd. ii. 34.
6 The strict injunctions given by Bishop Sanderson as to his own funeral
(see his Life by Izaak Walton near the end) may be noticed here.
Arguments for Burial. 415
which we are told we might practise by the substitution of
burning for burial. It has been calculated that a large sum
is expended annually (more than three-quarters of a million
of money) in the importation of bones from abroad for
agricultural purposes ; and it has been suggested that this
outlay might be saved by the scattering of the bones and
ashes of our fellow-citizens and friends over our fields,
which, it is said, is " their righteous destination," 7 although
such a treatment was regarded by the heathens as barbarous
and ignominious.8
But to all such financial calculations as these, may we not
venture to say, Is there not, after all, something better,
than the saving of money? Surely there is. And what is
that ? — The saving of souls. Anything which saves money
is dear, if it loses a single soul; and anything is cheap,
though it costs much money, if it makes a single soul happy
for eternity. And do we not know from Christ Himself,
our future Judge, that "he that believeth shall be saved,
and that he that believeth not shall be damned " ? 9 And
does not, therefore, the question before us resolve itself into
this, Which of the two processes — Burial of the dead, or
Burning — is more conducive to the maintenance and pro
motion of Christian Faith ? And which of the two processes
is, therefore, more profitable, in the highest sense of the
term, to the living ? to those, that is, who live now on earth,
and who, if they live the life of faith here, will live a life of
everlasting joy and glory hereafter ?
Let us consider this.
"We do not indeed imagine for a moment, that a sound
Christian believer would be staggered in his belief in the
Eesurrection of the body, and of its glorious Ascension into
heaven, by seeing a holy Martyr, like St. Polycarp, consumed
by the flames at Smyrna ; or by beholding John Huss and
Jerome of Prague burnt to death as heretics at Constance ;
or by seeing the ashes of John Wickliffe disinterred from
the grave at Lutterworth, and cast into the river Swift ; or
by seeing Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer burnt at Oxford ,-
' Sir Henry Thompson, on Cremation, p. 14.
8 Horat. Epod. xvi. 13, 14. 9 Mark xvi. 16.
4 1 6 Miscellanies.
or by beholding others of our Martyrs in the sixteenth
century burnt at the stake in Smithfield.
No : but the majority of mankind are not sound believers :
and they who are believers ought to consider this. And
we also know that the primitive Christians, on grounds
of Christian faith and love, " execrated funeral piles/'
and regarded Burning the body as a cruel penalty2 in
flicted on it. We know that Holy Scripture spoke to them
of the element of fire, as of the instrument by which God
would exercise His future judgment on the world,8 and on
the guilty after that judgment.4 We know that the primi
tive Christians regarded the bodies of their departed brethren
with reverence as holy vessels and instruments which had
been used by the Holy Ghost 5 for good works. We know
that the persecutors of Christians, — as, for example, of the
Martyrs of Lyons and Vienne in the second century,6 did not
allow the bodies of those Martyrs to be buried by their
friends, but burnt them with fire, and cast their ashes into
the waters of the Rhone, for the purpose, as they declared,
of refuting the doctrine of the Resurrection of the body, and
of preventing the diffusion of that doctrine in the world.
For reasons such as these, we need not hesitate to say,
that if the bodies of the dead in our great cities were com
mitted, as is proposed by some, to public furnaces for extinc
tion, the popular belief in the Resurrection of the body might
probably be weakened. And if this were so, since public
morality, and public happiness, depend on the maintenance
of this doctrine of the Resurrection, an injury would thus
be inflicted on the living. Greek Philosophy did not 7
reject the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, but it did
not accept that of the Resurrection of the body. And the
social impurities which denied Greek and Roman cities were
the consequences of the popular unbelief. And when the
1 " Execrantur rogos." Minucius Felix, cap. 11.
2 Tertullian, de Anima, c. 51 ; de Resurrect. Carnis, c. i.
3 2 Pet. iii. 7. * Mark ix. 45. Matt xxv. 41.
5 As St. Augustine says (Ibid. § 3) " Quibus tanquam organis et vasis
ad omnia bona opera sancte usus et Spiritus."
11 A.D. 161. See Euseb. v. 1.
" Epicurus alone rejected it, says Tertullian (de Test. An. c. 1).
Arguments for Burial. 4 1 7
Apostle St. Paul undertook the task of cleansing Society at
Corinth from those foul pollutions, he preached the doctrine
of the Resurrection of the body, as the best antidote to
them.8
The present condition of our own great cities and the
licentiousness prevalent in them, against which we are
contending, almost in vain, by Legislative enactments,9 show
that we cannot afford to part with any of such aids as these.
It would be miserable economy to do so.
Again, the moral health, and social welfare of a country
depend on its belief in the Ascension of Christ, and the
indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in the temple of the
Human Body, and in our communion with one another in
holy and loving fellowship in the mystical Body of Christ,
by means of the Christian Sacraments.
Belief in these doctrines extinguished the funeral piles of
heathendom, and produced a tender regard for the bodies of
the dead, and for their reverential burial, with the religious
services of prayer and praise, in catacombs and consecrated
enclosures. Those funeral obsequies exercised a holy in
fluence on the living ; they were like practical sermons to
them on the duty of sanctifying their own bodies by sober
ness, temperance, and chastity ; and of ministering to the
bodies of others, their brethren and sisters in Christ, in
poverty, sickness, and death, with offices of tenderness and
love ; and they had also a salutary effect in converting the
Heathen to Christianity.
The condition of a Nation is not only influenced by regard
for the burial of the dead, but it may be safely tested by it.
If the reverential care of the living for the bodies of their
departed friends is impaired, its moral and social and
religious condition will decline also. The substitution
of Burning for Burial would be a falling back from
Christianity to Heathenism ; even as Paganism itself was
a lapse from primitive religion.
Are we prepared to ' sever the connexion which unites us
s 1 Cor. xv.
9 Such as the " Contagious Diseases Acts." which show the inveterate
virulence of the malady, without providing any cure for the evil itself.
VOL. II. E 6
4 1 8 Miscellanies.
not only with ancient Christianity, but with the Church of
God from the beginning ? Almighty God created Adam
from the ground, and ever since that time the faithful have
looked to the Grave as the temporary resting-place of their
bodies • in the lap of their Mother Earth,1 till God should
awaken them to glory. Are we prepared to mar the beautiful
picture by which the inspired Apostle describes the body
committed to the grave as seed sown in faith and hope, to
arise to a harvest of glory ? 2
Who does not admire the heroic piety of the loving sister,
Antigone, whom the Greek dramatic poet, Sophocles, repre
sents as exposing herself to death by burying a deceased
brother, and appealing to the immutable, unwritten, and
eternal laws of divinely inspired primeval Morality, in
vindication of her act ? 3 Was there not more real piety,
and even more genuine political economy and social science
in her appeal, than in materializing and utilitarian theories
which weigh all things in the scales of the senses, and
estimate them by calculations of earthly profit and loss, in
times and countries calling themselves Christian ? And
was there not more true civilization, and more of noble
refinement and generous chivalry in the disinterested devo
tion of those faithful Africans, who carried the dead body of
David Livingstone for a thousand miles from the centre of
Africa to the coast, and followed that body to its resting-
place in Westminster Abbey, to be an ever-living and ever-
speaking Witness from the Grave, and exciting the English
Nation to emancipate Africa from the slave-trade, — than in
all the sanitary economies of political empirics who would
have consigned that body to the flames on the sands of the
desert, and perhaps would even censure the heroic fidelity of
his followers as fanatical enthusiasm, and wasteful expendi
ture of money and of time ?
Ever since the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ,
1 Even Cicero says (do Leg. ii. 22), " Redditum terrae corpus quasi
operimento matris obducitur"
2 1 Cor. xv. 35—44. Prudentius, Cath. x. 120—129.
3 See her noble speech, one of the grandest in the Greek Drama,
Sophocles, Antigone, 450.
A 'rguments for Burial. 4 r 9
Death has become a holy thing to all who believe in Him.
" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints." 4
Let me appeal to those who have watched at the death
bed of a venerable father, or a loving mother, or the dear
wife of their bosom, or an affectionate brother or sister, or a
darling child, have they not seen in that countenance after
death a calm beauty, a holy loveliness, spiritual, refined,
almost angelic and divine, reflected like a gleam of light
from the heavenly world, and even from the presence of the
Holy One ? 5 They have taken a last look at that counte
nance, and it will never be effaced from their memory.
They know, indeed, that the soul has passed away, borne by
angels to Abraham's bosom, and is safe there ; but could
they bear to cast that body into the flames, as if it were a
guilty thing ? No, — rather they will consign that beloved
form to the bosom of the earth, in Christian faith, hope, and
love, as the husbandman commits the seed to the ground, in
full reliance on God's mercy, and with a joyful foresight of
the great day of harvest, when Christ, the Lord of the Har
vest, will send His Reapers, the Angels, to gather together
His elect from the four winds of heaven.
And if that beloved form has been committed by them to
the grave, in the peaceful retirement of some quiet country
church -yard, girt with trees, and verdant with shrubs, where
the worshippers, as they pass through the gate and along
the path to the church, look at the graves of their departed
friends, who have fallen asleep in Christ, and feel inexpres
sible comfort and joy in thinking of the blessed communion
of the Saints, whether alive or departed, in Him; and where
the spring flowers at Easter-tide growing on the grave,
preach with the silent eloquence of their bright colours and
fragrant perfume, a sermon on the bliss and glory of the
Resurrection to the life that will never fade away ; then the
Grave itself becomes to them like a peaceful Sabbath, a haven
4 Ps. cxvi. 15.
6 See Wordsworth's Sonnet beginning —
" Even so for me a vision sanctified,"
describing the beautiful countenance of his wife's sister after death.
E e 2
42O Miscellanies.
of holy rest after the toils, and troubles, and storms of this
life. It is even like the Tomb of Christ, in the Garden of
Calvary, where Angels were seen in white apparel, and
from which He sprang forth " the first-fruits of them that
sleep ; " 6 and they look forward with calm resignation to
their own death, when they will commit their spirit in faith
into His hands, and will fall asleep in Him, in hope of a
blessed Resurrection for their mortal body, to live for ever
with those beloved ones who have gone before them, and of
everlasting bliss and glory, both in body and soul, with
them, through Him Who is " the Eesurrection and the
Life."7
NOTE. — The following is a List of some Publications in
favour of Cremation ; many of them have been specified
in the work of M. WEGMANN-EECOLANI, of ZURICH : —
J. P. Trusen, " Die Leichenverbrennung." Breslau, 1855.
Hermann Eichter, Gartenlaube, No. 49, 1856.
Dr. F. Coletti, Memoria sulla incinerazione del cadaveri. Padova, 1857.
Lieball, Der Welt Verderben durch Leichenbeerdigung und das neue
Paradies durch Leichenverbrennung. Miinchen, 1868.
Prof. Goffarelli, Discorso sullo stesso argomento. Firenze, 1871.
Dr. Du-Jardin, Studii e proposte sulla cremazione (La Salute, a° III.,
No. 9).
Dr. G. Pini, La cremazione dei cadaveri (Gazetta di Milano, 1872 : 26 e
37 Settembre e 29 Dicembre, 1873 : 17 e 23 Novembre).
Prof. Dr. G. Polli, Sulla incinerazione dei cadaveri. Milano, 1872.
Dr. Rota, L'incinerazione dei cadaveri e ammissible ? Chiari, 1872.
Dr. G. B. Ayr, La cremazione e 1'igiene. Milano, 1872. La crema
zione dei cadaveri risguardata dal lato chimico-igienico, storico-sociale
e religiose. Milano, 1873.
Prof. Castiglioni, Proposizioni al congresso medico di Firenze, 1869.
Prof. 0 Grandesso-Silvestri, Dell' incinerazione dei cadaveri (Gazetta
medica italiana). Venezia, 1873.
Prof. Dr. L. Brunetti, Cremazione dei cadaveri. Padova, 1873.
Dr. Cesare Musatti, Intorno alia incinerazione dei cadaveri (im Ateneo
Veneto). Venezia, 1873.
Prof. Silvestro Zinno, Sulla inumazione, inbalsamazione e cremazione dei
cadaveri. Im Piria, giornale di chimica. Napoli, 1873, 30 Giugno,
15 e 31 Luglio e 15 Agosto.
e 1 Cor. xv. 20—23. ' John xi. 25.
Works on Cremation. 42 i
Dr. Gaffe, Various articles in the Journal des Connaissances Medicares.
Dr. Anelli, Sulla cremazione del cadaveri. Milano, 1873.
Prof. Amato Arnati, Sulla cremazione dei cadaveri. Milano, 1873.
Prof. Paolo Gorini, La conservazione della salma di Giuseppe Mazzini,
pag. 45 u. ff. Genova, 1873.
Dr. Prosper De Pietra Santa, La cremation des morts en Italic (from
V Union medicate]. Paris, septbre. 1873.
Dr. Borgiotti, Dr. Bertoni, ) i
,, Sonsini, „ Ercolam, )
Plavio Yaleriani, in the Opinione, translated in Schweiz Grenzpost, 18.
Januar, 1873.
Volksblatt des Bezirkes Ziirich, Referat des Herrn Diakon Spyri (1873,
25., 28. und 30. October), iiber Beerdigung und Verbrennung der
Leichen (in der Sitzung der gemeinniitzigen Gesellschaft des Wahl-
kreises Neumiinster).
Sir Henry Thompson, on Cremation. London, 1874.
Prof. Dr. Med. C. Reclam, in Leipzig, in der Beilage zur " Allg. Augs-
burger Zeitung " vom 6. Marz, 1874.
Prof. Unger, in den Mittheilungen des Gottinger anthropologischen
Vereins, 1. Heft, 1874.
To these may be added, Brulons nos Morts. Paris, 1874.
THE INTERMEDIATE STATE OF THE SOUL
BETWEEN
DEATH AND THE KESURRECTION OF THE BODY.
MANY things — particularly the departure of dear friends from
among us — lead us to meditate on the present condition of
the saints departed; with whom — though they are divided
from us for a little while in the body by death, like a party
of fellow-travellers on the other side of a stream, which we
have not yet passed, — we are still united spiritually "in
one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of
Jesus Christ our Lord, which is the blessed company of all
faithful people/'
For reflections on this subject no words are more appro
priate than those of our Blessed Lord to the penitent on the
cross, " Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with
Me in Paradise " (Luke xxiii. 43) .
Let us consider his case. His companion, who was
crucified with him, railed at Jesus. But he prayed to
Christ, though he saw Him forsaken by His disciples,
pierced with nails, crowned with thorns, hanging on the
Cross, and working no miracle for His deliverance. Yet
his faith was not staggered by what he saw. Through that
dark cloud of sorrow he beheld the Lord of Glory. He
confessed his sins ; he owned God's justice ; he declared
Christ's innocence; he prayed to Him as his Lord and
King : " Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy
Kingdom." He asked no present boon ; he waa content to
die, in the hope that at that future day, when He who was
about to die on the Cross would come again in glory, he
himself should not be forgotten. Then, " Lord/' he said,
" remember me."
Our Lord read the suppliant's heart ; He saw how sincere
What is Paradise f 423
was his repentance, and how strong was his faith ; He
forgave him his sins, and did not defer his recompense, but
gave him an immediate reward. Jesus said unto him,
" Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise."
We are ever and anon called to stand at the death-beds
or grave sides of dear friends and relatives who have been
removed from us. What is their condition now ? And we
ourselves must soon follow them. Where shall we then be ?
What will become of our souls when separated by death
from our bodies ? These are questions of deep and
solemn interest ; and He who died for us, and who
will judge us at the Great Day, has answered these ques
tions, particularly by His reply to the penitent on the cross :
" Verily I say unto Thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise."
Let us examine, therefore, what these words mean.
On that day, very soon after He had spoken these words,
Jesus died. He said, " Father, into Thy hands I commend
My spirit," and He gave up the ghost — that is, He breathed
forth His human soul. He expired, The penitent also
died. Their bodies were taken down from the cross. The
body of the penitent was probably consigned to the re-
ceptable of the bodies of condemned malefactors. The
body of our Blessed Lord was, we know, laid by itself in the
new tomb of Joseph of Arimathasa. Hence it is clear that
the promise of our Blessed Lord to the penitent, " Verily I
say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise,"
did not refer to the penitent's body. That was not with our
Lord's body ; and the grave is not Paradise.
The promise of our Lord, therefore, referred to the
penitent's soul. Its meaning was this : To-day thou, —
that is, thy soul, thy better part — shall be with Me ; fear
not, therefore, whatever may happen to thy body ; let that
be cast into promiscuous heaps of dead in the dark charnel-
house ; yet fear not. I know thy repentance, I see thy
faith ; thou hast owned Me as thy Lord and King, there
fore the wicked one shall not hurt thee, and I will not
defer thy reward. Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou —
424 Miscellanies.
that is, the immortal part of theo — shalt be with Me in a
place of peace and joy. To-day thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise.
Two questions arise here —
First, How was our Lord with the penitent on that day ?
Secondly, What is Paradise ?
In answer to the first question, it is to be borne in mind
that our Blessed Lord is perfect Man, as well as perfect
God. As perfect Man, He has not only a human body, but
He has a human soul also. It is of that human soul that
St. Luke speaks when he says, " Jesus increased in wisdom."
In Him, as God, and as therefore infinite in wisdom, there
was no room for any such increase. Again, it was by an
utterance of His human will that Jesus said in the agony of
Gethsemane, "Father, not My will, but Thine be done."
It is of this human soul that He speaks on the Cross,
" Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." It is of
this human soul of Christ that the Evangelist says, " He
gave up the ghost."
If Christ had not a human soul as well as a human body,
He could not have died for us. For, consider, What is
death ? It is the separation of the soul from the body. At
His death our Lord's human soul went forth from His
human body. And when He said to the penitent on the
cross, " Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with
Me in Paradise " He gave him a blessed assurance that the
sun would not set on that very day which was then drawing
to a close, before the penitent's soul would be with our
Blessed Lord's human soul in a happy place called Paradise.
"Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise."
This, therefore, being clear, the next question for our con
sideration is — What is Paradise? What did our Blessed
Lord mean by saying that on that day the penitent's soul
should be with His own human soul in Paradise ?
In reply to this question it is to be remembered that the
word Paradise is of Eastern origin. It means a royal
garden or princely park, girt with an enclosure, adorned
with stately trees and fair shrubs and beautiful flowers, and
St. Paul's Visions of Paradise and of Heaven. 425
stocked with beasts and birds, and watered with fresh
streams. Hence, this word Paradise is used in the Greek
version of the Old Testament to describe the Garden of
Eden, or of delight, in which our first parents were placed
by God to dress it and to keep it.
In the New Testament the word Paradise occurs three
times. Once in the present passage of St. Luke's Gospel,
once in the Revelation of St. John (Rev. ii. 7), a passage
similar to the present, and once in that remarkable descrip
tion which the Apostle Paul gives, in his second epistle to
the Corinthians, of the visions which he was permitted to
behold, and which he calls " visions and revelations of
the Lord" (2 Cor. xii. 1—4).
It there appears, that, in order that the Apostle might be
better prepared to encounter with joy the sufferings which
awaited him in his long career of missionary labour and
endurance for Christ, God was pleased to give him two
distinct visions ; one vision, in which the Apostle was per
mitted to have a view of the future, full, final, and eternal
happiness of the beatified saints in heaven. This is what
the Apostle calls " caught up into the third heaven."
But, besides this, the Apostle St. Paul had another
vision of something nearer. He had a view of Paradise.
" He was caught up," he says, " into Paradise " — that is,
he had a vision of that blessed place into which the souls of
the faithful are admitted immediately after death; and in
which they remain in the interval between death and the
resurrection of their bodies; when their bodies will be
glorified, and joined again to their souls, and the Judgment
of quick and dead will take place ; and when they will be
welcomed by Christ their Lord and King to the enjoyment
of full, infinite, and everlasting felicity both of body and soul
in heaven.
The Apostle St. Paul was thus prepared to meet with
joy the sufferings of life in the cause of Christ. He had
personal knowledge of the two successive states which
lay before him after death ; first, the state of his own dis
embodied soul in Paradise, that state into which his own
soul would go immediately on its disunion from the body, a
426 Miscellanies.
state of such joy and happiness that he says " it is not for
man to utter " what is felt there ; the other, the state of his
soul when reunited to his body, raised from the grave at
the Great Day of general Resurrection and of Judgment
— the eternal state of both body and soul in the infinite
felicities of the third heaven, in the society of risen saints
and angels, in the presence of God.
It was St. Paul's personal knowledge of these two suc
cessive states which elicited from the lips of the Holy Apostle
that memorable sentence (Rom. viii. 18), "I reckon" —
that is, I, who have full acquaintance with the facts of the
case, have duly calculated, and I now deliberately pronounce
the result — " I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with," or put into the
scale against, " the glory that shall be revealed in us."
Therefore he exclaimed, "I desire to depart, and to be
with Christ, which is far better" (Phil. i. 23). "To me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain " (Phil. i. 21). And since
he knew that though the happiness of his disembodied soul,
immediately after its release from the burden of the flesh,
would be exceeding great in Paradise, far greater than any
earthly happiness, and that it would there have a blessed
foretaste of heavenly joy, yet that the soul's happiness
would not be complete until it was reunited to the body,
and that the body which had mouldered in the dust would
be raised from the grave, and be changed into a glorious
body, and be joined again to the soul at the Coming of
Christ to Judgment, he says, '* We that are in this taber
nacle of the body do groan, being burdened : not that we
would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon " —
that is, we long for the general Resurrection, when our
bodies will be raised from the dust and be clothed in a vesture
of heavenly glory, like the body of Christ, and we shall
enter into the full fruition of a blessed eternity, and be for
ever with the Lord (2 Cor. v. 2 — 4).
These considerations enable us to recognize the propriety
of the name by which the place is called, into which the
souls of the faithful go immediately on their departure
from the body at death, and in which they remain until the
What is Paradise f 427
resurrection of the body. That blessed abode is Paradise,
not only on account of what it is, but also on account of
what it is not.
It is called Paradise, because it is like a spiritual garden
or park, or place fenced off from common ground, and far
more beautiful. And as, literally, the word Paradise
meant a royal park of an Eastern king, and as the park led
to the palace, but was not the palace, so in a spiritual sense
the word Paradise, as used by our Blessed Lord and the
Apostles, meant a blessed place separate from earth, and
far more lovely than any earthly region. Yet the park is
not the palace ; and though Paradise leads to Heaven, which
is the Eoyal Palace of the Eternal King, yet Paradise is not
Heaven. And as, in a literal sense, the presence of Eastern
kings was oftener vouchsafed to their paradise or park than
to other places, so we are authorized by Holy Scripture to
believe that the souls of the faithful, which are in Paradise,
have a nearer view of the Divine Presence than they ever
had upon earth, and are, therefore, said to be " with Christ,"
and to be " in the hand of God," and so are unspeakably
happy ; yet they have not as yet attained to the perfect joy
of the beatific vision, to which they will be admitted at the
general Resurrection, when the bodies of the faithful will be
reunited to their souls, and which they will enjoy for ever in
heaven.
These assertions are further confirmed by our Lord's
words in other places of Scripture.
That the human soul does not sleep when separated
from the body by death, but retains its consciousness in its
disembodied state, is clear from His Divine words, " Fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul" (Matt. x. 28. Luke xii. 4). Our Lord here makes a
distinction between the state of the body after death and the
state of the soul after death. He says that the body may be
killed, but the soul cannot. But what does He mean by being
Idlled ? He means be laid asleep. For He has taught us
that the hour is coming when all bodies will be awakened
(John v. 28) : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is
coming when all that are in the graves shall hear the voice
428 Miscellanies.
of the Son of Man, and snail come forth." The body sleeps
after death, and will be awakened from its slumber by the
peal of the last trumpet. Therefore, if the soul sleeps after
death, there would be no difference (as our Lord asserts
there is) between the state of the soul and the state of the
body, after death. Therefore the soul does not sleep after
death, but retains its consciousness.
This is further evident from our Lord's parable of the rich
man and Lazarus (Luke xvi. 19 — 29).
In that parable the beggar dies ; his body is cast into
some obscure grave, but his soul is carried by angels into
Abraham's bosom. The rich man also dies, and is buried.
The world is still going on as before. The five brethren of
the rich man are living in their houses. But Christ uplifts
the veil, and shows us the place where disembodied souls
are ; and there we see the rich man tormented, and the poor
man comforted ; we see the soul of Lazarus in Abraham's
bosom — which is another name for Paradise — the happy
abode into which the souls of the faithful pass immediately
after their departure from death; and it is called Abraham's
bosom because it is not a solitary place, but a happy place of
holy society ; and it is called from Abraham, because
Abraham was " the friend of God, and the father of the
faithful," and it is called his bosom, from the Eastern man
ner of guests reclining at feasts, as St. John leaned at the
Paschal Feast on the bosom of Christ (John xiii. 23) ; and
because in that blessed place the souls of the faithful recline
as it were at a spiritual banquet, and are refreshed with
spiritual delights, and enjoy sweet converse with the souls
of holy men and women of every age, with Patriarchs and
Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists, Saints, Martyrs, and
Confessors ; and because at the Great Day they will be
called forth, when the number of God's elect is accomplished,
and they will be joined again to their bodies, and will " sit
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of
God" (Matt. viii. 11 ; xiii. 29).
These truths are revealed in Holy Scripture. And they
are ever sounding in our ears in solemn tones in that admi
rable exposition of Holy Scripture, our Book of Common
Where are the departed Saints now ? 429
Prayer, in the Office for the Burial of the Dead. In that
beautiful, instructive, and affecting Office the Church puts
this prayer into our mouth : " Almighty God, with whom
do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord,
and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are
delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity."
By these words she declares the true faith, namely, that the
soul does not sleep, when separated from the body by death,
and that the disembodied souls of the faithful are in joy,
while their bodies sleep in the grave. But, lest we should
imagine that the souls of the faithful departed have as yet
attained their full and final happiness, or will attain it before
the Great Day of Resurrection and Judgment, she bids us
further pray, in the same Collect, that God would be pleased
to hasten His Kingdom, and that Christ would come again
in glory to raise their bodies from the grave, so that '' all
who have departed this life in the true faith of His Holy
Name may have their perfect consummation and bliss both
in body and soul in His eternal and everlasting glory, through
Jesus Christ our Lord."
Let us endeavour to derive some practical inferences from
this inquiry.
1. In our Lord's words to the penitent on the cross let us
see the blessedness of true repentance aud lively faith.
"Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in
Paradise." The circumstances of that case were special,
and cannot again occur; Christ cannot hang again on the
Cross, and therefore these words offer no encouragement to
delay, or to reliance on a death-bed repentance. But they
are a signal proof of the love and power of Christ. They
show His love, in that, when He Himself was suffering the
sharp agonies of an excruciating death, He had compassion
on the penitent ; His power, in that, when He was descend
ing into the lowest depths of humiliation and shame, He
took into His hand the key of pardon and unlocked the
golden gates of Paradise, and admitted a faithful soul to
instantaneous bliss.
Thus even the Cross of Christ became, as it were, a judg-
430 Miscellanies.
ment seat — it became like a royal throne, on which He spoke
as Judge and King of the world : " Verily I say unto thee,
To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."
And since Christ's power was so great in His hour of
shame, how great will be His glory, how awful will be His
Majesty, when He comes on the clouds of heaven to judge
the world ! Let therefore this act of Christ inspire us with
fervent love and godly fear.
2. Again, bearing this Scripture in mind, we shall not be
deceived by those who imagine that the saints departed are
already admitted to heaven ; and who venture to address
prayers to them as if they were reigning in heaven. St.
John, in the Apocalypse, teaches us that the saints them
selves pray for the Coming of Christ (Rev. vi. 10). He
teaches us that they are not yet advanced to the full happi
ness of heaven. Their condition is not yet perfect. It is
one of hope and expectation ; and we have no warrant for
believing that they can hear our prayers ; and prayer to
them is an act of presumptuous intrusion into the secrets of
the unknown world. It is a sin against which St. Paul
warns us when he says, " Let no one beguile you of your
reward in the worshipping of angels, intruding into those
things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his
fleshly mind" (Col. ii. 18).
3. Next, this Scripture warns us against another false
doctrine — that of Purgatory; according to which it is
affirmed by some that those persons who have made their
peace with God on their death-bed, but have not suffered
the temporal penalties due to their sins, nor made the tem
poral satisfaction for them, pass at death into a place called
Purgatory, where, it is alleged, they endure pains equal to
the pains of hell itself in intensity, though not in duration,
from which they are to be redeemed by their sorrowing
friends by means of prayers and masses and indulgences. A
most dreary doctrine, especially for the poor; and a dan
gerous delusion. Holy Scripture warns us against it. We
see that the soul of Lazarus is carried immediately by
angels into Abraham's bosom. We see that the soul of the
penitent passes immediately into Paradise. And the beloved
Christian Consolations. 43 1
Evangelist St. John says, in the Book of Revelation (Rev.
xiv. 13), "I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, Blessed are the dead that die " (or, as it is literally,
Blessed are the dead who are dying in the Lord — that is,
Blessed are they at the very moment of their death) " from
henceforth : Even so, saith the Spirit, for they rest from
their labours."
4. Again, we are thus reminded that the soul at its de
parture from the body at death does not pass into a region
of slumber and insensibility. No ; the atheist and the
libertine who desire the death of the soul may dream of its
sleep. But the faithful Christian knows that his soul, like
its Divine Author, will neither slumber nor sleep. He
knows that it is written that the traitor Judas, at the hour
of death, went to "his own place " (Acts i. 25). He
knows that the soul of the rich man in our Lord's parable
passed immediately at death into a place of torment; and he
knows that the soul of Lazarus went immediately from the
rich man's gate to Abraham's bosom. He knows that the
soul of the penitent went instantaneously from the cross into
Abraham's bosom.
Therefore let us not delay our repentance in the hope that
if we do not repent, but die in our sins, there yet may be a
long respite of punishment ; that there may be an interval
of many years between the day of our death and the Day of
Judgment. True, there may be as to our bodies; but not so
as to our souls. There is no such prorogation of punishment
to the wicked ; there is no such delay of joy to the righteous.
To-day, even to-day, if we do not repent, we may be with
the rich man in torment. To-day, even to-day, we may be
with the penitent in Paradise. Virtually and practically the
day of our death is the Day of Judgment to us. For at
death the soul enters immediately into a state of happiness
or of misery ; it goes to its " own place," and it there has
an anticipation and foretaste of the even greater happiness
or misery on which it will enter when joined again to the
body at the Day of Resurrection and of Judgment. There
fore, let us not put off our repentance. Now, even now,
" the Judge staudeth at the door."
43 2 Miscellanies.
5. And while we remember this solemn truth, let us not
be betrayed into the error of thinking and of speaking of
good men who are departed, as if they were already admitted
to the full felicity of heaven. Such a mode of speech over
looks the constitution of human nature itself. Man is com
posed of body as well as soul. And the soul's perfect
happiness will not be attained before its reunion to the body.
Such a mode of expression overlooks, also, the great doctrine
of the Eesurrection of the body, and the universal Judgment
to come, and it mars the Communion of Saints, and violates
our own fellowship of hope and prayer with departed spirits,
who wait for us, and whose happiness will not be completed
without us, but will be perfected with ours at Christ's
coming (Heb. xi. 40), for which they pray as well as we.
6. "Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me
in Paradise."
Here is consolation to us in looking forward to our own
death. If we are like the penitent on the cross; if we are
crucified with Christ ; if, though the world forsake Him or
revile Him, we boldly confess Him in the presence of His
enemies : if we bewail our sins, if we trust in Him, if we
pray to Him as our Lord, our Saviour, and our King, then
death to us will not be a fearful thing. No ; it will be a
happy passage to a pleasant place, to a beautiful garden, a
spiritual Eden. We shall see, with the eye of faith, our
adorable Saviour Himself standing near our death-bed, and
shall hear His blessed voice : " To-day shalt thou be in
Paradise."
7. Yet further. Are we looking forward with trembling
apprehension to the departure from among them of some
dear Christian friend or relative ? Here is our consolation.
That beloved one, at whose bedside we are watching, is not
going on a dark and forlorn journey to a dreary and dismal
land. No, no. The mortal body, indeed, will be laid for a
short time in the grave, but even that body will only sleep,
in order to be awakened from its slumber by the blessed
voice of a loving Saviour, and to be clothed with angelic
beauty and glory. But the soul of that beloved one, if that
soul believes in Christ, and loves Him, and trusts in Him,
Christian Consolation. 433
will wing its viewless flight to Paradise, and will join the
blessed company of departed saints there. Here is our
comfort, in ministering at that sick-bed, and at that death
bed of our dear friend. Let us pray for him, and pray with
him. Let us join with him in the devout reception of the
Holy Communion, which is the best preparation for the last
journey before him ; then there is good hope that with his
dying breath he will bless our tender care ; that his soul at
his death will be borne on the wings of holy angels into
Paradise, and that it will be there with the souls of others
whom we have dearly loved on earth, and will hold sweet
converse with them, and will speak, it may be, to them of
our last ministries of love. And then what joy will be ours !
We shall not sorrow, as those who have no hope, for him
who has gone away from us. He is only gone before us for
a little while. He is in a blessed place ; after the weary
voyage of this troublesome world, he rests in a calm harbour
and is at peace, and has a blessed foretaste of everlasting joy.
The time is coming — it cannot be very far off for any of
us, and it may be very near to some of us — when our souls
will go forth from our bodies, being separated from them by
death. And then, at that very moment (and that moment
may be even ou this day), that soul of ours will be either in
a place of sorrow or of joy. What will then our worldly
wealth profit us ? All the pomp and splendour of the rich
man in our Lord's parable could not buy him a drop of water
to refresh him in his torments. Therefore let us use our
worldly wealth well, and not delay to use it ; let us devote
it at once to the promotion of God's glory, in works of piety
and love. Such acts of mercy if done in humble faith and
reliance on the merits of Christ, Who alone can make them
pleasing to God, are among the best preparatives for a
blessed passage from the church of Saints on earth, to the
Church of Saints in Paradise, and to the glorified Church ot
All Saints in Heaven, to which may God in His infinite
mercy bring us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
END OF VOL. II.
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